Dat Booty
by victoriarogue
Summary: Ava believes Ira thinks too much and is surprised to see him act a little more playful after a shower. This, however, triggers a very dangerous thought that's got Aced and the Master of Masters teasing poor Ira about it later.
1. Chapter 1

She was cute. That's all anyone could say of Master Ava as their Master was in the process of explaining the existence and purpose of the Chirithy. Of course, it was a no-brainer that she would treat the little cat as more than a pet. So, when Aced threatened to destroy the animated plush toy should it become evil, it amused him when she defended the creature. In that moment, Ira could see what Gula meant about her: always walking the straight and narrow. That's how Ava was. Falling off the path lit before her would inevitably lead to darkness, and darkness took many disguises from a harmless teddy bear to a raving madman hiding behind the mask of a bear. Leave it to the young Ava to defend all from such darkness. He wondered if that's why the master treated her as he would a daughter. Well, in truth, he treated both Ava and Invi as daughters really. Physically, he only ever touched the girls. He never saw the master place a reassuring hand on Gula's shoulder or a reprimanding finger to Aced's lips or even a small tap on his own shoulder to say he was on the right path toward something. Come to think of it, not even Luxu got a pat to his head or anything.

Ira dismissed the thoughts playing in his head and decided to go shower before retiring for the night. He thought a lot today after the meeting with the master. There was so much yet so little to learn about the balance between light and darkness. Seven beings of pure light sounds easy to find and unite against darkness, but there was light within many. How does one know who is of purest heart and who is hiding a tainted fragment behind a powerful light? Darkness was even more complicated. How many disguises could darkness truly have? When does it become a threat to the world versus a threat to a single person? That's when Ava's face (or rather her masked face) entered his mind.

As strange as it was, Ira couldn't help but whisper to himself as he leisurely walked through the Foretellers' Chambers, "Always walking the straight and narrow. As long as light shows you the path you are meant to walk, no other guidance is needed... and darkness will not be able to stand before you in a disguise."

It was starting to make sense. Gula's words, that is. Maybe that's why Ava was so important to the master and to Gula. If the master does disappear - heaven forbid - and the seven pure lights are needed to protect the world, Ira could be certain that Master Ava would be the mightiest light of them yet. But how was she important to Gula other than relieving him of the pressure of him being the youngest among the Foretellers? For the most part, he and Luxu were the most secretive of the masters. You could never tell what was going on through their heads or in their lives. In terms of personal life, maybe Ava was Gula's "special" light.

"Maybe I do think too much," Ira muttered to himself, finally walking into the male shower room.

"What about someone in town? Like - I don't know - some random girl at a bakery?" a familiar voice asked. It sounded like Luxu.

"I used to," another voice said. Sounded like Gula. "Well, before the master found me and started the training."

Ah, normal conversation here. Probably about hobbies. Wait, Luxu mentioned a girl so maybe it's something else like a first crush. Ira began to undress himself as he listened on silently. Even though he wasn't particularly interested in the conversation about hobbies or crushes, eavesdropping was really the only thing stopping him from thinking again. Pretty soon he was going to squash whatever secret the boys had once his presence was known. Unless Aced went ahead and burst through the door screaming about someone using his soap again.

"There was a girl at the Moogles' tavern I used to see," Gula said, surprising Ira for a moment. A conversation about girls? With Gula? What? Gula then continued, "I think she was my first one. Wasn't a bad-looking girl. Pretty face, nice smile, maybe one other guy was interested in her but it didn't look like she was buying his game. One day, while I was in the tavern, she was drinking some kind of smoothie or something. Some kind of way it spilled over and got on her chest. From there, my brain was just like, 'Yeah, that'll work.' And it was gettin' down in Daybreak Town for about a week."

"Eh?" Luxu exclaimed.

This is what goes on with his comrades when he's not around? Ira wasn't sure of what to think anymore. It never crossed his mind that Gula of _all_ foretellers would have desires - no, let's say that Gula before he was _known_ as Gula had desires - for other young girls. Matter of fact, let's change the sentence again. Actually, no, let's leave it alone. Ira gathered his towels and wrapped himself up before entering the bathing room. Having a quick shower no longer interested him. He needed to actually sit down and soak this all in literally. He could easily pretend he never heard anything and just walked in absentmindedly. No, that'd be suspicious. He'll just fake like he was thinking again. Perfect.

"Life was way easier then. No roles, no darkness, no real worries," Gula finished, plunging his wash towel in the clear, steaming waters. He let it rest on his shoulders as the water trickled down his back before leaning back and relaxing. He and Luxu heard someone entering the room before he responded, "Oh. Hey, Ira."

Ira nodded before asking, "Long day?"

"There's never a short one with the master," Gula responded, scoffing.

"Don't I know it," Luxu replied, plunging his wash towel in the water before placing it on the back of his head so his hair could soak in it. Luxu then asked, "Oh, I heard the master was giving you some help. What was that about?"

"He made some kind of stuffed animal called a Chirithy in his lab for us," Gula answered. "They're basically new pets to help with the unions. We need to be able to detect when darkness is growing if we hope to stand a chance against it in the future. Monitoring our wielders individually on our own is impossible. My guess is the Chirithy were made to lessen the burden."

Intuitive, quick-witted, able to form conclusions based on what little information is given. A very valuable defender of light. Ira let the two boys continue their conversation in peace as he soaked in the hot spring. He halfway wanted Aced to join in just to enjoy everyone's company mostly, but when Luxu asked the incoming question he was happy he was gone.

"Hey, Ira? Do you think about girls much?"

"Pardon?" Ira questioned, slowly opening his eyes.

"About a week ago, I was out going to the cliff overlooking the town," Luxu explained. "While I was walking there, I saw this girl feeding the fish near the bridge. She just watched them for a while before someone called her home. I don't know why but I started thinking about her a lot. Up until I started dreaming about her. Then the dream out of nowhere morphed into a fantasy. I was just wondering if that was normal."

Ira smirked a bit, amused that Luxu was so innocent, but soon felt himself smiling gently at the explanation. Luxu seemed to be the eye in the sky and the eye of the world. One who can see all but must learn gradually as time progresses. An interesting defender of light. Not wanting to delve into this topic but not wanting to be dishonest with his younger comrades, he hummed in thought at the question. Leave it to him to start thinking again.

However, when he closed his eyes to relax before finally answering, he said, "Well, I haven't had any fantasies about anyone recently. I've mostly just been thinking."

"About the girl?" Luxu probed, curious to know the story behind Ira's response.

Ira nodded, slowly opening his eyes again to see Gula and Luxu looking dead at him. Both held curiosity in their eyes. He then questioned, "Does this bother you?"

"No, no! I just wanted you to continue," Luxu said, waving his arms about.

"Well, it's more like thinking about what Gula said about her. Always walking the straight and narrow," Ira said, closing his eyes and leaning his head back. For whatever reason, once the words left his lips, he didn't have a single thought or question left in his mind. He was just empty, but all of his prior thoughts of young Ava were traveling through speech when he continued to speak. "Even though the master had given us instructions on how to deal with Nightmare Chirithy, Ava still wanted to protect it before allowing anyone to consider the notion of destroying it so darkness can no longer spread. She's right. Eliminating a Nightmare that was once a helper to its wielder will just ignite sadness in those connected to them, wielder and Chirithy. Sadness is an easy thing to spread when mourning for the loss of a friend. Not only sadness but anger as well. Anger is even easier to spread and is the most dangerous weapon. Anger could turn to vengeance, betrayal, doubt, and spite. Before you know it, six forms of darkness have spread all because of one wielder who has fallen to darkness and a Chirithy whose mission was simply to guide him in the light. I doubt she even thought about it that way, but her small protest made me realize her value as a defender of light."

"Whoa..." Luxu whistled, jumping in the steaming water. "Master wasn't kidding when he said you were always thinking behind that mask. Any other guy would've just said she doesn't want anyone hurting the cute, little animal."

"All that thinking is what makes you the one," Gula said, closing his eyes to smirk. "The unicorn. A symbol of purity and virtue. One of the better qualities of a leader is his sense of morale, but your best quality is your ability to take something so small and to find a deeper meaning behind it. Even greater still, you can take that meaning and find value in it for yourself as an advantage to guide others. Admirable."

Ira opened his eyes, rolled his neck to his left side, and looked at the two boys for a moment. He smiled at them then said, "You are as well. Both of you."

From there, it was just a normal conversation again. Luxu and Gula mainly spoke about trivial things with some input from Ira every now and then. The boys sort of danced around certain topics just as he predicted they would, but they were cautious enough to see whether or not he would participate in some of them. He supposed it was their way of seeing if he could be trusted with specific information or if he was comfortable enough with it. He didn't mind it much. Other than the topic of fantasizing about girls, the rest seemed harmless. Feeling himself get sleepy, he finally washed up with soap and left the room with the boys saying their goodbyes. Sounded like they were planning on spending more time in there. Luxu must've wanted to get something a bit juicier out on the table. As he dressed in a bath robe and proceeded to walk into the hallway, he felt someone trying to sense him. Something really juicy must've been coming up. Luxu was making damn sure he was out of earshot. It made Ira chuckle a bit before he shook his head and walked away to his room. Chances were he really didn't want to know what was going on in there.

"Life was easier then," Ira whispered to himself, letting Gula's words sink in. It was funny how the youngest members of their group could inspire him.

"Oh, Ira," a familiar feminine voice called.

"Ava," Ira greeted with a nod. Looked like she was just as tired as everyone else. "What's wrong?"

"Hm?" Ava responded, tilting her head a bit. When she remembered what she was running around for, she shook her head rapidly for a second before speaking again with a smile on her face. She said, "Oh, nothing! I was just wondering if you saw Aced. I was trying to catch up to him, but he turned down the hall already by the time I got to him. After that, I didn't see him."

"He might be in his room. He wasn't in the showers," Ira answered, rotating a shoulder when he felt it stiffen.

"Oh!" Ava said, scurrying behind Ira to lightly pluck his shoulder twice. "Master taught me how to do this last week. I think he just wanted me to give him a massage, though. He said it would help out in the long run with my curing abilities."

Ava took one hand to steady Ira's shoulder and then put pressure on his blade to get his shoulder to crack. When he grunted from the relief, he merely watched her rub his shoulder in a few circles to spread out the tension. That master was sneaky! Getting this kid to give him a back massage when the world was being threatened by darkness. Then again, maybe this was a sign. Even though they all had roles to complete as his apprentices, it didn't mean they couldn't treat each other as humans. Strangely enough, Ira grew curious about the girl. He would have thought she was too shy to touch a half-naked man in any way unless that man was close to her. Sure they were comrades and all, but it never crossed his mind that they were close enough for this kind of treatment. Was she going to do the same thing for Aced? Gula? No, not while he was in the shower. There goes that thinking again...

"Thank you, Ava," Ira said softly.

"No problem, Ira," Ava replied, scurrying around to face him. "May as well get used to it if you're gonna be the new master of masters. Who knows how many massages you'll need with all that thinking you do? I doubt I'll be able to be your personal masseuse with my role, but you should think about taking it easy for now until that time comes."

"Were you going to do the same for Aced? He's kind of like a leader," Ira added, preparing for her answer.

"You know..." Ava started, placing a finger under her chin in thought. "I haven't thought about it that way. The master never said to give one to Luxu. Well, Luxu's not really his right hand or anything either. I think he just wanted a massage out of me to be honest. Weird, huh?"

"Indeed," Ira said, chuckling. "Perhaps you should think about giving him one. He might be less noisy. I doubt Invi will let you, but she could probably use it, too. If you're really good at it, you might be able to start a business. It's something to do other than drown yourself in this role."

"What was in that shower room that got you this loosened up?" Ava questioned, laughing lightly. "I've rarely seen you so life-like!"

"It's funny actually," Ira commented, smirking. "Before I got in there, I was thinking about all kinds of things. While I was in there, I was talking to Gula and Luxu about nothing of particular interest other than my impressions of you three as defenders of light. My thinking just kind of stopped for a moment. Up until this point, only your massage parlor is coming to mind. Like how it would look and such."

"If I do start one, the master will make it his mission to be the first customer," Ava remarked with a small giggle. "You know, he made me walk on his lower back right after the shoulder thing."

"Oh, Aced would marry you if you did that for him," Ira said, waving a hand to gesture the man running far and wide to find the perfect engagement ring with pink diamonds or something along the band. "That is his _dream_. He might fight the master for first seat at your parlor. Who knows?"

"Not if Invi can help it!" Ava remarked, laughing at the image of the master holding his hands up as Invi and Aced argue in bath robes and slippers. "That's a good idea, though. The massage of your dreams. Aced likes someone walking on his back, and the master likes these little gloves that have static in them. I guess the shocks neutralize the charges in his body and he just feels better when he's neutral. Gula likes saunas so maybe a steam roller is something he'd like. I did see this shop in town that was selling massage stuff. I thought the hot stones would be good for Invi. Maybe magic stones for her?"

"That sounds interesting," Ira said, placing a finger under his chin in thought. "Maybe use Blizzard to ice her back and then the stones to melt it away and relax her muscles?"

"Hey, that's not bad!" Ava complimented, thinking using Aero to even dry up the water that might be left. "What about Luxu, though? I don't know what he'd like."

Ira paused to think then. Should he tell her about what they spoke about in the shower room with the girl by the bridge? No, that was a secret between him and Gula really. Well, maybe there's a detail he can take from the conversation instead. But what?

He then finally said, "Maybe just a regular massage with water-based oil? He doesn't seem like the acupuncture type."

"That could work. Oh, what about you?" Ava asked, smiling when Ira looked at her with curiosity. "Well, you're giving me all these cool ideas. What's your dream massage, boss?"

"Boss?" Ira questioned.

"May as well be the manager since you came up with the idea of a parlor," Ava replied. "Looks like you were destined to be a leader either way. In dream or reality."

Ira gasped lightly at this, looking at Ava's cheerful smile. Was he really so worthy for such a task? Not wanting to think of anything major for the night, he shook his head lightly and patted Ava's head before saying, "You definitely wouldn't want to give me one if I told you. I think your words and the shoulder thing was enough for me."

"Oh, c'mon, Ira. I can handle it. Promise!" Ava said, clasping her hands together to form begging gestures and pouting her bottom lip.

Cute. That was the first thing that came to mind. Just plain cute. Ira then said, "Tell you what. You give Aced that massage when you find him and I'll give you one hint to my dream massage."

"Aw!" Ava whined before cheering up. "Alright, I'll do my best. If he says anything about proposing to me, you'll save me right?"

"No. I'll be the one to say I told you so," Ira said, grinning and placing a mischievous finger to his lips.

After hearing his name being called and a small foot stomping afterwards, Ira continued his walk to his chamber. He wasn't about to let Ava know anything about his dream massage other than maybe the music he'd like to hear. That's crazy talk telling a young girl about a grown man's fantasies. Maybe Aced will like the back massage, though. That hot stone idea didn't sound half bad either. He might have to invest in that one. He could just tell her he'd be interested in that one, right? Sure, it's not his dream massage but it'll do as runner-up.

* * *

When he finally entered his room, he went to his wardrobe to dress in some light pants and an open shirt. It was pretty cool tonight so linens would do. He put on his clothes and walked to his balcony window to look into the clear night sky. So many stars were up there. He wasn't sure how long he had been outside, but sure enough Ava entered his room in her own pajamas and hopped onto his bed without even seeing if he was in it or not. She wasn't dressed in anything fancy. Just a white top, pink shorts and mini robe. Cute.

"Ava, what on Earth are you doing in here?" he asked, hoping she was just in his room to talk about something trivial and nothing more.

"Aced said he'd only marry me if it got on your nerves, but that he did like the massage," Ava said brightly.

"Of course, he did," Ira said, sighing and smirking.

"So, can I get that hint now? Please?"

And there it is. Ira looked up at a shooting star and then said, "Sorry, Ava, I think you're too young to be giving me my dream massage. I like the magic stone idea, though. I was just thinking about it."

"Aced told me you might not give me a hint, so he gave me a secret code," Ava said, getting Ira to turn around with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Vinegar tea."

Ira took a deep breath at those dreaded words and calmly but begrudgingly lumbered toward his bed and sat next to Ava. He made it his mission to get back at Aced for his coded threat as Ava laid on her stomach to hear Ira's reply. She had no idea what the code meant, but it must have held a great amount of power over Ira if Aced could grin about it and feel like he just accomplished something amazing that no one but the master could understand. As she waited for Ira to speak, she wondered what would make him so hesitant about this hint. Or about the dream massage for that matter. Hers was lying on a fake fur mat and having nice, strong hands rub a sugar scrub into her skin. Nothing particularly concerning.

"Alright, here's your hint," Ira said after a moment. "I like peppermint, so my dream massage involves a mint oil."

"That's more like a preference, Ira," Ava giggled. "If it makes you feel more at ease, my dream massage is lying on a big fur mat and having a sugar scrub rubbed into my back."

"You were destined to like cute or sweet things, weren't you?" Ira commented, smirking.

"See? There's that life-like spirit!" Ava cheered, nodding.

"Alright, you asked for this," Ira said. "You promise not to tell anyone, right?"

"Nope. I'm gonna use this as a secret code for later use," Ava replied, copying what Ira had done earlier with his finger pressed to his lips.

He paused for a moment, a single thought crossing his mind as Ava looked at him with a childlike eagerness, and became even more hesitant than before. When he started to see cute stickers floating around Ava's head in anticipation, he slowly crept to her ear without realizing how husky and rough his voice was becoming as the words formed in his head. He didn't want to do this, but he was being threatened. Then again, there were two solutions to his predicament. He could either create a dream massage for her to just accept and keep going or he could be stone-cold honest. Once he felt Ava grow impatient, he decided to let her choose and then take it from there.

"You have two options then," Ira said, holding up a peace sign. "You can choose either the sweet dream or the honest dream. Both of these are my dream massages, but one is scarier than the other."

"Scary?" Ava questioned, hands balled up and sitting close to her chest. She took a moment to think it over, smiled, and then said, "You're luring me with the sweet dream so that you can tell me something that'll run me away. I'm gonna go with the honest dream."

"Both will run you away, Ava," Ira said, seriousness etched into his features. "I only said one was scarier than the other. I didn't say both weren't scary."

"This had better be good with the stalling you're doing," Ava argued, tilting her head so she could lend her ear to Ira.

"Fine," Ira said, sighing. He pressed his lips only a few centimeters away from Ava's ear and whispered his honest reply. "I don't need anything fancy to lay on. No table or fur or even a bed. Just a flat surface is enough. Near a fireplace preferrably with something soft and classical playing from a gramophone. Maybe a Baroque piece to lull me to sleep almost or make my imagination play out. As I lay there, the smell of burning wood and mint oil will invade my senses. Someone's hands..." Ira paused to take Ava's hands into his own and turn them so his palms were touching the back of hers. He then continued, "will slowly reach up to my shoulders and rub gently at first. Slight pressure will soon follow and those same hands will travel their way down my spine before tugging my hair back a little to move it out of the way. Then, I'll feel someone's body..." Ira paused again to run his fingers up Ava's arms until he reaches her neck and slowly drags the fingers down to trace the seams of her shirt. Ava gasped, blushed, and then froze as Ira continued again. "Covered in that same mint oil, push my torso into the surface beneath me as it rolls back and forth above me. I'll feel that someone's skin all over my back, feel their thighs move back and forth in slow rhythms, feel the muscles in them pulsate as they move their body, and notice that like me they are also in a compromising position. Out of my own selfish or loving desire, I'll whisper for them to use their mouth and be rough with me. That same, intoxicating body will roll back and forth over my back again, those hands will trace my spine again, those lips will taste my skin, their teeth digging lightly to feel the bone underneath muscle and sinew. The icy sensation in my back coupled with the flames near me is enough to completely undo me. Time will pass and that person will turn me over and keep going over my chest. I'll reach out to touch that person, but then I wake up and the dream ends."

When Ira pulled back to study Ava's face, he expected to see fear, embarrassment, or even shock. He didn't see any of those things and it puzzled him. There was nothing he could read in her eyes, nothing he could read from her body, nothing he could read at all. She was just frozen. He waved a hand in front of Ava's eyes to see if she was still there, but she was stuck in this unusual loop of time it seemed. She really wasn't moving. Ira felt a slight of panic in his chest and placed a hand over her stomach. He breathed out calmly when he felt Ava breathing through her diaphragm. Out of curiosity, he placed the back of his hand over her heart and was almost startled by the hard thumping he was feeling. The heart beat's frequency seemed normal but sounded too strong. It was like her heart was pumping too much blood at a time. Unsure of what to do, Ira closed his eyes to sigh and proceeded to stand up to splash a cup of water on her face, but he was immediately taken by surprise when Ava shoved him down and kissed him. At first, his body was ready for any form of sexual release when he voiced his fantasy to the young Foreteller and he kissed back passionately to the point where he wasn't dominating but controlling the object of his affections. Then, he realized he was controlling Ava and forcibly pushed her off him to sit up and regain his composure.

"Are you mad? You're a child!" Ira argued.

Ava wasn't hearing any of his reasoning and jumped at him to force him back down. He wasn't anticipating a sudden pounce from the smaller Foreteller. Again, his body reacted to her assault and he felt his hands grab at her hips before traveling upwards to lift her tank top before he stopped himself again. He scrambled to place his hands on her upper arms and pushed her back once more. This time he read two emotions in her face: shock and frustration. Why those two? Ira loosened his grip on her arms out of confusion and tried to sense if this was really the same Ava or darkness taking her form. That would be scary actually. A dark Ava? Cringe. After sensing her power, he confirmed that it was the same Ava he thought was cute for protecting a newborn Chirithy. The only thing he could guess for why she was doing this was his fantasy turned her on, which makes no sense because any other girl or woman would have just ignored it or would have maybe called him a pervert, but he was positive she had a thing for Gula. Well, at least he thought she had a thing for Gula. They were the closest in age, physical capabilities, and -

Once she used a Graviza spell on him to force him down, he decided to ask right before she kissed him again, "If the master or Gula catches you doing this, what then?"

That stopped her for a minute and gave him enough time to remove the Graviza spell and start summoning an Aero spell just to gently push her back and make her come to her senses. She gulped for a second, having thought of a proper answer, and then leaned in to whisper to Ira, "I don't think I care. For just a moment, I don't think you did either. Otherwise, you wouldn't have kissed back a second time and you would have used a stronger spell to force me back the same way I did."

Ira gasped at this before dismissing his spell. She was right. He didn't have to tell her his fantasy, didn't have to whisper it to her, and didn't have to let her kiss him at all. In fact, he could've just stopped her in the hallway when they were talking, yet here she was straddling him in the most delicious way possible and letting him take over. The most mind-numbing thing of all is probably the fact that she's virginal, so he would have to teach her everything he kno -

"So be it."

He turned her over and took the lead from there, earning small intermittent moans as the kiss became a makeout session. She was getting the hang of it, though. As time passed, he actually had to fight for simple dominance... until he felt nails clawing at his back and soft fingertips digging into the muscles in his back. His hands parted her legs by the knees before he roughly massaged her inner thighs. Her hands went from lightly rubbing his shoulders to reaching underneath his waistband. We'll see how much she doesn't care, won't we, brain? Ira no longer wasted time and quickly undressed the girl as she pulled his sheets down. Pretty soon, she nodded at him to go all the way and Ira no longer let his brain form any source of reasoning behind her actions. He just took her. With every thrust and every whimper, he let this be his guilty pleasure. Drinking every command she gave, every compliment she made, every kiss she took, every return thrust she managed to perform. When both were spent and they lay there trying to catch their breath, he wanted to think of something to say to her, but she silenced his thoughts with a sweet kiss and cuddled into his warmth.

* * *

Ava work with a start like lightning just hit her. No way. NO WAY was she attracted to Ira in such a... a ... Is there even a word to describe such a thing? Why would that even cross her mind? Ira had to be twice her age! What on Earth was happening to her? Her heart was still pounding and some of the images were playing back to her. Mostly the parts where she was massaging Ira's back as he - NO! Ava shook her head violently before slapping herself to concentrate on anything else besides her dream. Not even bothering with trying to go back to sleep, Ava jumped up and went into the kitchen to make a cup of tea.

No one was there so she took some deep breaths and walked over to the stove. Her personal teapot was resting in one of the cupboards on the right side, so she opened the door and took out the tea set. She turned the fire for the stove on and filled the pot with water before setting it onto the flames. She waited for her pot of water to boil before placing a vanilla and chamomile bag of tea into the hot water. A spoonful of honey should calm her down, too, and that's what she decided to add. Trying to think of anything else, she turned off the fire when the teapot whistled and poured some tea into her cup. Picking it up, she placed the cup onto a small saucer and walked over to the table. She blew the sweet steam at the top of the cup and took a few sips until she heard rustling and a light click on. She hummed in response and saw Aced standing before her with this look of annoyance like he really didn't want to be up at the moment. When he saw Ava, the look changed to surprise and then curiosity.

"Aced?" Ava called, also surprised that someone else couldn't sleep.

"Ava? What are you doing up?" the man asked, concern lacing his voice.

"Oh, just had some trouble sleeping. Weird dream," Ava responded, smiling gently.

"About what?" Aced questioned, walking over to the table.

"Running a massage parlor," Ava lied, blushing slightly. "I was thinking maybe some dream massages are better kept a secret. I'll just stick to the ideas Ira gave me earlier. It's definitely safer that way."

"A good wet dream will do that," Aced commented, smirking.

"A what?" Ava questioned.

Aced was on the verge of laughing hysterically at Ava's response. He just woke up because his body decided to get up, but this was more amusing than he thought. Maybe his body was really telling him, "Oh my gosh, dude, get up right now! You are gonna LOVE this!" That's pretty much how he was feeling right now. Ira didn't even mention his dream massage to Ava because he was asleep by the time she finished walking on Aced's back, so the only thing Ava could do was imagine something Ira would want. Mistake! Based on little Ava's face, a mistake was made on this night. Aced was debating on whether or not he should tell Ira about this because Ira could be scary sometimes, and he could probably shut down any and all fantasies Ava might be tempted to think about in the future. Oh, screwing with people was becoming his passion. He could now see why the Master did it so much. Interested in whether or not Ava would tell him what exactly she dreamed about, Aced decided to be serious and proceeded to continue the conversation.

"A wet dream," Aced repeated, getting a cup of tea. "That's what you just had. Basically, you were dreaming about giving a more sexual massage to someone and I don't think it was your dream husband. You said your own dream massage was really meant to be from a husband if you get a chance to marry some day. My guess is you were thinking something more sexual in nature is what Ira wants as a dream massage. That lingering thought is what created the dream. Whoever it was you were fantasizing about must have come as a shock."

"B-b-bu-but Aced that's - !" Ava started, face completely red.

"Ira is a man, Ava," Aced said, interrupting the young Foreteller. "He has his own desires just like me and the master. When you're our age, you'll probably develop your own fantasies. You've got some time to think of it before our roles take effect."

"That means your dream massage isn't as pure as I thought either, right?" Ava questioned.

"No, mine is as I said," Aced replied, sipping his tea. "Walking on my back is good enough for me. It's probably a good thing Ira was asleep by the time you visited his room to ask about his dream massage. If it was anything like you dreamed, I doubt you'd be able to function."

"You are so embarrassing!" Ava shouted in a whispery voice. "And what are you doing up anyway?"

"To be honest, I just woke up out of nowhere," Aced answered, finishing his tea and placing his cup in the kitchen sink. "If your dream truly is upsetting you, maybe you should talk to Invi about it. She could give you better insight on the matter. She is a woman, after all. If you need a man's perspective, there's me and the master. Unless you've spoken to someone else about this?"

Ava stuttered a bit, face not getting any less red, and then dropped her head down to say, "I just woke up from the dream and you're the only one I can talk to about it 'cause you're the only one up."

"Very well," Aced replied, sitting across from Ava at the table near the window. "What do you wish to do?"

"I dunno. What do you do when you have a bad dream?" Ava asked.

"Determine what makes it bad," Aced answered. "Then figure out whether what I just saw was in fact a dream or a vision. Remember, darkness wears many disguises. It can easily invade something so simple as a dream and plague your mind for days until you are consumed. As Foretellers, we must be careful of this. What in your dream makes it bad?"

"You promise not to laugh, right?" Ava asked.

Mistake! Kingdom Hearts, give him the strength not to bust out in tears in front of this traumatized girl! Where was the master when he needed him? Good Lord. Aced took a quick breath to stop the chuckles trying to rise up and nodded his head. Ava looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was near the door and then tried to sense the others' light. Aced was on the brink of destruction at this point. She was making damn sure he was the only to know this "terrible" secret. Made him wish he was married now so the kids could start comin' in with their problems. Oh, he'd be the best dad ever.

"It was about Ira," Ava whispered. Aaaaaaannnnnndddd done. Aced just nodded for her to continue, knowing he would break out in laughter if he opened his mouth now. She went on, checking again for any eavesdroppers, and said, "Well, since he was sleeping before I could get whatever hint he was going to tell me, I just imagined him not being asleep. You know, him just thinking like he always does. He was stalling on telling me anything, and I used the code you gave me to force it out of him. He stalled some more until he told me. After that..."

It was coming out bad now. Aced felt a tear creeping in on him. Oh yeah, that best dad trophy is looking shiny on the horizon. Aced took a quick breath, hummed in fake thought, and probed, "After that?"

Ava tried to gesture the next part with her hands coming together but it looked more like clapping or trying to solve those hands-on puzzles. Of course, Aced knew what she was trying to say and it made his seams come aloose. He wasn't sure what was more hilarious: Ava trying to gesture at the sexual content of her dream or her pretty much saying dreaming about anything sexual with Ira was her worst nightmare? He thought for sure maybe he'd be too scary to dream about because he's all tall and big compared to everyone else. He was triple the size of Gula if not quadruple, about the same height as Ira but not the same build, and the master was pretty much his height but again not the same build. Luxu and Gula were in the same boat.

Aced then said, "Ah, I take it that's where things got weird for you."

"Yes," Ava squeaked, small tears appearing in her eyes.

"Did he say something to you that seemed bad?" Aced asked, trying his absolute hardest to be serious.

"It wasn't him that said something weird. It was me!" Ava declared, flopping onto the table and fake crying.

Aced took a much deeper breath this time and said, "Alright. What did you say that's got you so upset?"

"That I didn't care if the master or Gula caught us," Ava replied, sparking Aced's interest. "And that I didn't think he cared either."

That changes EVERYTHING. This is someone subconsciously wanting to control their future leader but it doesn't stop there. Not only does she want to control Ira, she wants him to relinquish his own self-control and sense of morale so that she can completely dominate him. Holy shit, that IS sexy. Uh, he meant Good Lord that tea sure was too warm for his tastes. Well, Dream Ira must've had the time of his life after he heard her say that. No wonder she was so upset. She was afraid of herself. He was thinking it was something Ira did like... like... What would Ira do to a hormonal teenage girl anyway? He's WAY too noble. Oh, but that scary side of him existed. No, that scary side to him comes out when he's angry or getting impatient and that took two miracles and a half of a blessing to get him to that point at all. He can be frustrated or sad, but he doesn't step too far outside of those boundaries. That's what made him so admirable. Yet, this young girl wants to destroy all of that. A chick after his own heart.

"Wow," was all Aced could really say at the moment. It made Ava whine and fake cry again. Aced then continued, "I was thinking something completely different. Well, it sounds like you have a subconscious want for Ira to be more open. Not really to something...intimate. Just in general."

Ava popped up at this with a face full of hope. That made sense! She then asked, "More open?"

Aced nodded and then said, "Maybe the interaction you had with him beforehand is what really sparked the dream. You said Ira gave you some ideas for your massage parlor, right? Well, did he seem open-minded about it? Kinder maybe?"

"Yeah, he was more playful after his shower," Ava replied, smiling a bit more at the realization.

"That's what the dream was telling you. You want to see that side of Ira more because he seems more like a regular guy not just a thoughtful leader," Aced advised. "The situation you were in might have been too compromising, but the clues seem clear enough to draw such a conclusion. You said he was stalling a lot, right? That probably represented the walls he tends to put up around us so we don't know what he's truly thinking about. When you said the code, you broke the wall. At least one of them anyways. Did Ira say anything to you that made the rest of the dream get too weird?"

"He just told me what his dream massage was. I guess he really was just voicing what I thought he wanted because the real Ira said I wouldn't want to give him one if I knew. The only thing I could think of that would be off-limits is if it were too explicit," Ava said, pouting. "I know I'm too young for certain things. I don't mind. To be honest, I don't really care if it is too adult for me. That just means he'll need a more personal masseuse who isn't me. The massage parlor idea just kind of came up because he had a stiff shoulder. When he was so open to the idea and even helping me with ideas, he was more free-spirited and happy. He even joked around. I never saw him like that before. Not around me at least. I just wanted to know if he trusts me the way he trusts you. We're a team, you know?"

Aced was silent. This changed everything once again. Ava wasn't having her first wet dream because she had a crush on Ira or because she was horny or because she secretly wanted to control the man. She had that dream as a secret wish to be Ira's friend not just some subordinate. That's when Aced realized just how distant she and Ira really were. Ava speaks to Aced often and knows a few things about him. He knows a few things about Ava, too. Though they don't talk often, she and Invi speak to each other and know things about the other. Gula is her closest friend, and Luxu seemed to be a good friend to her. He guessed that he could expect that out of the youngest members. But Ira? He and she don't talk much at all. If he asked either of them a slightly personal question about the other, they wouldn't be able to answer him at all. That's really why Ava was so upset. In her dreams, she knows how to break Ira's walls, but, in reality, she doesn't have those same tools. That would frustrate him if he called someone a comrade and didn't know squat about the person. It must be tiresome for Ava.

Aced hummed in thought and then said, "Ava, go tell Ira your dream."

"What!?" Ava shouted. "Are you insane?"

"Ava," Aced said gently, placing a finger under her chin. "You should never feel mistrust from a comrade. With darkness looming overhead, we can't afford to be distant from each other. We are the five lights that will protect this world. Not four. Ira needs to be able to trust you the way he trusts us. In your dream, Ira might have been easy to coax into an open relationship but ours in the real world is no fool. He would easily dance around your questions or even dismiss them. This dream is the only weapon you have that will get through to him. You should use it."

"But Aced, I - !" Ava started before she stopped.

The man gave her a very serious scowl for a moment before his disposition returned to that gentle teacher again after she sighed and nodded. Too bad the dream wasn't about Aced. This gentleness she could've handled and it would have made more sense. He has the rough hands she envisioned her husband having. Maybe not the body and voice but he definitely had the hands. She even would've accepted Gula or Luxu who were more appropriate. But this was Ira they were talking about! Why couldn't she just dream of something impossible like the two eating cotton candy together or something? Why... those unmentionable things? Taking a final gulp of her tea, which had gotten cold, she nodded with determination and ran out of the kitchen to wait in her room for the morning to come. Aced waited for her to disappear into her room before speaking to the presence Ava didn't detect earlier.

"You should go back to bed. Someone has something to tell you."

"So I've heard," Ira said, coming out of the shadows. "At least I heard some part of it."

"You just heard the parlor idea up until what I said," Aced responded, taking Ava's teapot, teacup and saucer and placing the items near the stove. "That's when I caught you before you hid away to eavesdrop. Did you hear what the dream was about?"

"No," Ira answered, walking into the kitchen. "It must have been serious if she believes I don't trust her. You said some pretty impressive words yourself."

"Well, I was fighting not to laugh at her before because of what she was upset about, but her words were enough to show me evidence," Aced said, walking towards Ira but heading in the direction of the kitchen door.

"Evidence?" Ira asked, stopping his friend.

"When was the last time the two of you had an actual conversation about something miscellaneous? Something that had nothing to do with roles or training or the master's teachings?" Aced asked, looking to his side. Ira gasped at this after some thought and made Aced nod. He then said to Ira, "That was the true meaning of her dream. The contents of it might have disturbed her, but the truth underneath them is what's upsetting her. Try to remember that when she gains the courage to tell you what it was about."

"I guess I don't deserve a hint, do I?" Ira questioned, dropping his head down. Poor Ava. He didn't mean to push her away.

"Well, she didn't give me all of the details, but she never had a dream like that before," Aced hinted, giving Ira the most mischievous and wicked of grins. This frightened the normally cool-headed man and made him gulp a bit. When Aced saw this reaction, he growled lowly, "I'll give you a code to help you. Think of this and nothing else when she speaks. Understood?"

Ira's eyes widened at his friend's face. It wasn't evil but it was like he knew something that ran deeper than what he heard. In fact, it was the same look he gave him when he put vinegar and some kind of fiber in his tea. He was in that bathroom for hours! Ava's secret dream had to be horrible if that was the case, but he wanted to know what it was about. He didn't want her to feel untrusted. Ira nodded slowly and asked, "What is it?"

"Self-control," Aced said before going to his room.

Self-control? What did that mean? It didn't sound like a code someone would recognize or know the secret of when considering the underlying message of the word. Maybe it was something in the definition. Ira went to get a glass of water as he thought of Aced's hidden message and drank it calmly. He couldn't help but think of the man's secret code. Self-control? What exactly did he do in Ava's dream? Of course, dreams are just projections of feelings or desires that one wouldn't normally express in reality. Sometimes, they even act as memories. That wasn't enough of a hint to help, though. What happened to not thinking, Ira? The man heaved out a frustrated sigh. He couldn't escape thinking for very long, could he? Damn those two! Finishing his glass, he placed his cup in the sink and turned around to see the Master of Masters standing in the doorway. His body showed amusement. Oh crap.

"Master?"

The man nodded and said quietly, "Come with me to the library, Ira."

Shit, this is bad. Uh, he meant oh crap times two! What could the master possibly want with me at this ungodly hour? How much did he hear? How much does he know? When they both entered the library, the master remained uncharacteristically quiet. Something terrible was about to happen. He could feel it. Anticipating the worst, Ira watched his master pick out a few books that seemed too cute or delicate for his tastes. What is Crushes: A Serious Study? That was in the bookshelf somewhere? Since when? Forbidden Flowers? What?

"Master, what are you searching for?" Ira asked almost shyly.

"Hm? Oh, something for Ava," Master responded, picking out one last book. Most of them were short reads and seemed a tad old. The man then continued, "Looks like she needs some in-depth advice on a very delicate topic. So, I'm finding a few things that could help. Of course, only a woman would know what a woman is thinking beneath all that pretty and empowerment, so Invi is better suited for the job. But! I think her teeny, tiny dilemma is self-solvable. She just needs to get scientific."

"And you need my assistance for this?" Ira questioned, not understanding what's going on anymore. What the hell was Ava dreaming about that's got even the master involved?

"No," the master deadpanned. "Ava, Gula, and Luxu begin their roles tomorrow. You won't have time to interact with them to know about Aced's message. You might not even have time to talk to them even when your role begins, depending on when that even happens. In short, I'll tell you what Ava's dream was about if you truly want to know."

"Oh, well..." Ira started. He REALLY didn't want to know now, but his curiosity got the better of him. He did, after all, want to know why Ava felt untrusted and wanted to correct the matter now that everything was beginning. He made his final decision with some reluctance and said, "I suppose if she's too busy to tell me, then it should be fine. I only heard she felt I didn't trust her. I don't want her to feel that way. She's a very valuable defender of light. Betrayal amongst our seven lights is not something we can afford."

"That's a good impression to have of her. Too bad this is gonna get awkward for the next five weeks," the master said with that prior amusement he had earlier. When Ira looked at him with some confusion on his face, he then placed his choice books on his shoulder and said, "To be blunt, Ava pretty much had a fuck dream about you."

Ira was quiet for a good five minutes, putting the pieces together, until he finally shouted with incremental volume, "Wha - what? What? What!? WHAT!?"

"Oh yeah, let it all sink in, big man," the master said, chuckling evilly at Ira's flustered face and shifting eyes. "She woke up freaked out and told Aced what happened in the kitchen. That's why you found them there. What you heard was the cutesy interpretation of the dream."

Ira felt light-headed and his heart slowed in beating for a brief moment. He sat down on a chair at one of the reading tables as the master held back the powerful, boisterous laughter threatening to come out of him. Ira then stuttered, "B-b-bu-but she's... H-h-ho-how did...? W-wha-what...?"

"Face the music, buddy. You're a prized stallion," the master joked, pointing a playful finger at Ira. He then sighed and said, "My sweet, little Ava's growing up. Welp! I've got some books to deliver."

"Wait! But then, what did Aced's message mean? That I had no self-control in her dream?" Ira questioned. "Did I force myself on her or something?"

"Actually, you did in the dream what you would've done in reality. You held back for the most part," the master said, leaning to his side like he normally does when he's probing Ira to think beyond a particular subject. "You even thought of the consequences and tried to get her to do the same. In fact, you tried to stop her twice when you factored in the age difference and what me or Gula would say. Her dream Ira was almost exactly like you to a fault. It was impressive really. What scared Ava wasn't you at all. It was herself. She was the one who lost her self-control."

"She... lost control?" Ira repeated, feeling faint with each word.

"Yup. It all started with that conversation about the massage parlor she wanted to run after you left the shower. She called it you being life-like, right?" the master asked, turning to see Ira remembering what happened a few hours ago. "That's what got her attention. She found that side of you attractive."

"As in se - ?" Ira tried to clarify before feeling faint again.

"Yup. She's not ready to admit it yet, but she pretty much is secretly (or rather subconsciously) attracted to another side of you that she hadn't seen before. I guess it doesn't hurt having an impressive butt either," the master added, making Ira place a palm on his face and groan.

"How am I supposed to speak to her now, knowing she dreamt about me in an inappropriate manner?" Ira asked to himself.

"Hey, every girl's got a dream. Nothing inappropriate about hers," the Master said, turning around to see the man's troubled face. "She's at the age where sexual attraction is a thing. You just so happen to fit her bill. Would you prefer it if Invi liked you in that way?"

"I would prefer it if we could just be comrades," Ira debated, rubbing his temples to erase the thought of Invi including him in her sexual fantasies. "'Sides, I think she and Aced are closer to each other in that manner than me and her. I don't even know how I can face either one now."

"Easy," the master replied. "Just don't think about it. Do what you do best and think of your role and the balance between light and darkness. That's more important. For Ava, being younger than both of us, getting over this little crush is more important. To get her back on track with her own role, we'll squash any other crush-y thoughts or dreams she might have now by helping her realize what she's feeling is normal for someone her age. It's a bit of a shock now because physical relationships are last on anyone's list until that _one_ person shows up in your life. See? Normal stuff."

Ira took a deep breath and nodded before saying, "You're right. Thank you."

"You still have a big butt, though," the master said, chuckling a bit at Ira's immediate reaction.

After that, the master was gone and Ira was left to think to himself for a moment. The sun was rising now. Well, if Ava was going to be gone for most of the day, then there would be no need to confront her about anything. The master would distract her with the books, Gula could talk to her more, Aced might tease her for a while, and Invi could give her some girl time if they bumped into each other. Good, he wouldn't have to speak to her at all. Ira gasped then. The reason Ava felt so mistrusted in the first place was because they never spoke to each other on a personal level about anything. Avoiding her would just make that distrust she was feeling worse, and that might ignite more dreams because she'll want to see the kinder side to him again. He wanted to correct the misconception not prove her right and lose a guardian of light. He couldn't really be nice all of the time either. He had his role to worry about and it would seem too suspicious. Great! Ira can't talk to Ava and can't _not_ talk to Ava. Perfect. Damn it! Suddenly, the master's words came to Ira's mind: squash any other thoughts or dreams she might have now. Okay. What should he do to destroy Ava's hidden attraction towards him? After a moment or two, a very dangerous idea came to mind. He was sure this would end terribly but what else was there to do?

* * *

Walking through the streets of Daybreak Town, Ira patrolled the area seeing keyblade wielders fighting raid bosses that decided to invade their peaceful world. This was good. Once the bosses were eradicated, he continued his watch over the land. Some Heartless surrounded him to attack, but he made quick work eliminating them. He supposed he needed that outlet. When he began to think of Ava and Invi, his original plan to eliminate any hidden feelings either one of them might have shared with him came to mind. Not wanting to be consumed by his thoughts today and feeling too tired to even function at the moment, Ira decided to leave Daybreak Town and enter the surrounding forest area to relax. There just so happened to be some cataract waterfalls a few miles away. He could just rest there for a while to clear his head. That's what he used to do when he trained with the Master. At least during those times, it was rare to see the other future Foretellers if they weren't studying under the Master. He could simply date a normal girl, which he did for a while before he was called to be the Master's apprentice, and practice his fencing skills or meditate. Come to think of it, he wondered if his old hammock and reading lamp were still hidden within the flat stones that made up an impressive geological wall for him to simply study. He missed taking samples of the rocks and observing their structure.

When he made it to his old training spot, he took off his white boots and walked barefoot through the soft earth and tall grass. He missed this place greatly as he carried his boots to his old cabin. It was right next to the cataracts and small pond. He knelt down slowly and then sat down to enjoy the scenery and breathe. Times were simpler then. Some hurried footsteps caught his attention and he turned slightly to hear the voice behind him. Who followed him here?

"Ira?" Ava called, making the man tense.

Seriously? Her crush is so strong she's starting to follow him everywhere? Ira turned around and nodded in a silent greeting. Please don't tell him about the dream. He wasn't ready for this yet! He wasn't ready for it last night either.

"Oh, the master asked me to give you this!" Ava said, holding up a Chirithy. Ira blinked at the shy creature, watched it float towards him, and then land in front of him with curiosity in his eyes. When it wiggled its nose about, he sighed and then started chuckling. Suddenly, the chuckling became laughter and confused Ava a bit. She hummed in question and then asked, "Ira, are you okay? You haven't been sniffing something funny around the water, have you?"

"No," Ira responded, reaching out to take the Chirithy in his arms. "You were so happy to give me this new puppy-kitty thing, I almost forgot why I came here."

"Oh, sorry, Ira," Ava apologized, turning to leave. "I'll leave right away. Wha - ?"

Ava didn't know when Ira removed his mask or when he got close enough to grab her hand, but she was still shocked nonetheless when he removed her mask to kiss her very deeply. Well, there goes her first kiss. If the biting of her lip was anything to go by, there goes her first french kiss, too. Was she being lifted off the ground right now? Oh my gosh! Trying to wriggle out of Ira's embrace, her protesting began to weaken once the kiss became more passionate. Feeling herself giving in to the man's advances, she moaned before shooting back for air. Her face was a nice shade of pink to mirror her embarrassment, but it soon faded when she saw the undeniable look of desire and hunger in Ira's eyes. Was this the scary Ira that Aced talked about? No, Ira's not angry.

"B-b-but Ira, I - !" Ava started.

"You what?" Ira asked in a lustful voice. A growl was added to the question to make it sound like no answer was meant to be given, but Ava tried to answer it anyway.

"I just gave you your Chirithy. You don't have to french me!" Ava said, blushing profusely.

"That wasn't the only thing I was going to do to you," Ira said, grinning mischievously. He then changed into a more cheerful person and asked, "Would you like to learn how to make a sugar scrub, Ava? I used to study geology in this area. There are actually some stones that can be grinded down to the base salts used for scrubs. I can teach you how to make the sweet oils, too."

Confused about Ira's sudden personality change, Ava was silenced for a moment but intrigued also. She looked into Ira's eyes with curiosity and reached out to touch the man's face to see if it was really him. Once it was confirmed, she watched Ira chuckle as he looked at her fondly and then nodded at him with a small smile. Ira rubbed his nose against Ava's and then placed her down to lead her to the creek he was sitting by. He walked through the currents and spotted an interesting blue stone that he remembered was a salt typically used for healing. He took it into his hands with Ava watching him and then walked back to her to show her the stone. Climbing out of the water, he found his old glass bottles kept in a wooden box with dates and findings written along the sides. He picked a matching blue bottle up and directed Ava to kneel in front of him. Feeling his power being generated in his hands, Ava watched Ira crush the stone with his bare hands and grind at the bits to make grains pour into the bottle. She gasped at this, impressed with Ira's work so far, and watched as he sifted the grains to make sure no large pieces escaped his hands.

Satisfied with the grainy base, he asked the girl, "What kind of oil would you like?"

"Huh? Oh! Um... Any kind is fine," Ava answered. "What kind of flowers grow in this area?"

Ira grinned mischievously and then pointed to his aging cabin. He said, "I have a purple book on the large table in there with all of the flowers I managed to find that grow here. Be very careful when reading about them."

Ava nodded, blushing at the man teasing her. He sniffed something weird in the area. No doubt about it. She skipped into the cabin, seeing the book on the table. It hadn't been touched in years from the looks of it. It already began collecting dust and buggy visitors. She looked through the book's pages, seeing many kinds of flowers in Ira's meditation place, and wondered if the reason Ira was showing so many sides to his personality was because he was in a familiar place on his own again. The Master said Ira loved this particular area because he was more free and could explore whenever he liked after training. Ava noticed that he did smile more. Seeing Ira's Chirithy hopping on the table next to her, she smiled at it and showed it the book with all of the flowers. The Chirithy picked one flower that was yellow and they learned that it was described as the flower that made Ira happy when he looked at it. Ava cooed at the little animal and scratched behind its ear as a reward. That was sweet. It wanted to make its master happy. Ava looked through more species and noticed a flower that Ira described as being exotic and mysterious. It was a deep purple flower with leathery leaves and spotted petals. He described its scent as a wild berry from a jungle and its color ignited a desire for adventure, but even through observation he couldn't quite understand the flower's origin or growth pattern like the other flowers. He does mention that butterflies love to drink its nectar and seem to dance around it. She liked butterflies. Curious about the flower, she returned to Ira along with his Chirithy and showed him the flowers they both chose.

Ira gave Ava a seductive look and asked, "Is there a reason why you two chose these?"

"I like when you smile, Master Ira," the Chirithy said shyly, awaiting some kind of scolding. It took the look as Ira being angry. When Ira chuckled and pet the little one, it then said, "I wanted a flower that made you happy. You said the yellow one made you happy just by looking at it."

"Thank you... Odie," Ira said, laughing at the Chirithy's ears when they perked up at the name. "All of the Chirithy will just be named Chirithy. You are unique. You'll need a unique name so I can recognize you over the others."

"I'm Odie!" Chirithy declared, hopping into Ira's arms.

"Yes, you are my Odie," Ira said, nodding at the Chirithy. When he felt a soft kiss on his lips, he was startled out of the conversation with his Chirithy and looked into Ava's blushing face and warm smile. Oh shit... "Ava?"

"I have to go now," Ava said quietly, taking the bottle of rock sugar into her hands. She retrieved her forgotten mask, replaced it on her head, and cheerfully said, "Thanks for the scrub, Ira. I know just what oil I want. Bye, Odie!"

"Bye, Master Ava!" Odie said, waving and giggling at the use of his new name.

"Dammit..." Ira mumbled, rubbing his forehead with one rough hand.

"What's the matter, Master Ira?" the Chirithy asked, looking at his master.

"I made it worse!" Ira complained.

* * *

Author's notes: And that was my attempt at a one-shot. The idea sort of popped into my head after I saw the movie again on YouTube. I thought the master was looking at Ira's butt purposely out of interest, which would have been more of a yaoi, but Ava having a steamy dream about Ira was a much better explanation. And it's funny to think about. Ira also seemed to direct his attention to Ava a bit differently than the others. That could be just because she's the youngest and he believes she's still new to the situation, but it didn't completely seem like that was the case. Let me know what you guys think, though.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Hello all. This is part two to Dat Booty. I was actually satisfied with the one-shot I had of the story, but I decided to add this part because I didn't get to put in Ira's dream about Ava. I took that section out since it didn't feel necessary. Ira telling himself he made the crush Ava had on him worse was a good closer, but I liked the bromance he and Aced shared in the movie and I liked how it was written here. I just didn't show much of it, and my original file had way more in it. So, basically if you're still with me, part two is just about Ira having a dream about Ava in response to her sort of dream about him. Aced pretty much has a field day when he hears about it because that's what bros do. At least that's what I think they do when girls aren't around or when they care the slightest bit. Enjoy! ;-D

* * *

He was so doomed.

DOOMED!

After Odie left his side to watch the wielders in his union, Ira was walking through the streets of Daybreak Town alone again to return to the Tower. He couldn't believe his plan made things worse. He could believe he scared Ava a little bit at first by stealing her first kiss it seemed like, and that's what he intended to do: scare her with his own desires. On his own, though he wouldn't admit it in front of anyone, Ira was a demanding person. Of course, he would never force himself on a woman, but if she was a willing lover then let's just say he had a few things in mind that could make the night interesting... for _him_. Ideally, his adventurous side in that area could be tamed by (or evenly matched with) the woman of his dreams, but who the hell would tell that to a child with a crush on him? That's terrible! Which is why he was back to square one when the master told him about the damn dream she had of him. Why did he need a glass of water anyway? Any other time he would just get his water in the morning after taking care of his personal hygiene or whatever. The one night he decides his throat is drier than a salty biscuit not to have water is the one night this bullshit happens. Why?

He just couldn't believe it. Well, no, he didn't want to believe it. If Ava was the pure, innocent little girl he thought she was, she would have detested the mere notion of desiring him. That's what a normal girl would do if some guy, who was older than herself, put himself on a platter and served her inappropriate options of a future together. So what gives? As Ira was trying to figure it out, his findings were becoming too inconclusive. He made Ava attracted to him more some kind of way. He didn't even know why she kissed him and ran away from him so happily. Dammit! As he was rushing down the street, he noticed Aced monitoring the citizens of Daybreak Town from the bridge overlooking the water. Luxu mentioned that he saw his crush feeding the fish there. Damn kids... Hoping to just nod in greeting to his comrade and keep going, Ira gained Aced's attention and made him turn to him to talk.

"Ira?" Aced questioned, noticing the man's flushed face. "What happened?"

"Nothing of importance," Ira responded a little too quickly.

"Don't give me that," Aced said, folding his arms and approaching his friend. "You look like you're about to bolt at the sound of a gun. What's going on?"

"It's nothing," Ira answered a little more calmly. When he saw that Aced was frowning and unconvinced, Ira sighed in frustration and said, "I think I fucked up to be honest."

"Oh, is it Tuesday already?" Aced questioned, smirking at Ira's short growl.

"Thank you and goodnight," Ira replied, waving a hand in annoyance while rolling his eyes.

"Well, let's hear it," Aced said, chuckling and unfolding his arms. "It can't be that bad. You're hardly ever upset."

"I - " Ira started but ultimately just stuttered for a couple of seconds before he noticed that Aced was beginning to grow concerned for him. He rarely ever stuttered a response to something. Ira then looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping and said in a whispered tone, "I... I kissed Ava on the mouth."

"..." Aced was frozen for a good five minutes before he shouted, "WHAT!?"

The power behind that voice was strong enough to startle a few Heartless away from ambushing them because a few Darkball Heartless politely went the opposite way of the bridge to attack other citizens. Even Invi heard it from another part of town, but her Chirithy appeared before she could run to the source of the screaming. Aced was a capable fighter, but who knows what could have happened for him to scream like that? Gula was in the middle of speaking to a wielder when he heard the noise in the distance, but he only shook his head and said something about crazy bears. Ava didn't hear the noise but she heard the rumble. She was busy purchasing a peppermint oil from an old man's shop and putting a sticker of a white horse on top of her bottle of scrub. Ira frantically slammed his hand on Aced's mouth and dragged him to the Tower where they could speak privately. Rather than climb all the way to the top, however, Ira just dragged Aced to the sitting room on the first floor. It was supposed to be for guests, but the master ultimately decided he didn't want any wielders disturbing them. When he shoved Aced on a long couch opposite of the one Ira flopped down in, he took off his unicorn mask and rubbed his temples again. He was surprised by Aced taking his bear mask off. Now, see, Aced was a nice-looking man. Why couldn't Ava fantasize about him instead? They were closer, right?

"Whatever it is you're thinking, the answer is no," Aced said, narrowing his eyes.

"You're too noisy anyway," Ira mumbled, covering his face with his hands. Damn closet mind-reader!

"I once thought you were too noble," Aced remarked. "And there's two keywords there. When I said self-control was the code, it wasn't meant for you but apparently it should've been."

"The master told me what the dream was about already. There's no need for a code," Ira said through his hands before screaming in frustration.

"So what? Were you that turned on by a teen having the hots for you?" Aced questioned.

"No," Ira said, putting his hands down. "The master said to get rid of her crush so she could focus on her role. She only liked me because I spoke to her after I got out of the showers. Since that was the case, I figured that if she knew about my sexual interests - mind you, without _saying_ that they were - then she'd turn tail and run off. No more crushing and more focusing. It worked at first because she was confused by me changing my personality so fast and so much. Out of nowhere, she kissed me."

"WHAT!?" Aced shouted, making everything inside of the Tower shake violently. Luckily, nothing glass broke.

"Shh!" Ira hissed. "Will you stop that?"

Aced stuttered for a minute, unsure of how to respond, and then finally said, "Okay. Tell me as _best_ as you can what happened."

"Okay," Ira nodded, thinking back to after he had spoken to the master. "That morning, after the master told me about Ava's dream, I thought of a plan to scare her - not traumatize her because that'd ruin us as the five lights that could protect the world - but just enough to no longer have a crush on me. She could instead have one on Luxu or Gula because of their age similarities."

"Right," Aced agreed, nodding his head and pinching the bridge between his nose and eye line. He had the same reaction Ira did when he first heard about Ava's dream. How does something so innocent as a dream destroy two men?

"Right, so I decided to tell her my dream massage and to make it as explicit as possible. I mean, a child wouldn't want to be _that_ involved with an adult male, right?" Ira questioned, though more to himself. When Aced hummed and nodded in agreement, Ira continued, "But the master said that in Ava's dream that's _exactly_ what I did and that's what led to it being... you know the story already."

Aced inhaled sharply and then sighed to exhale and said, "Yeah."

"So I scrapped that idea. Since I didn't want to just force myself on the girl, I settled with just having multiple personalities like an identity crisis," Ira said. "Most girls hate trying to figure a guy out, right?"

"I'm about to have an identity crisis right now if you don't get to the damn point," Aced said through a headache forming.

"Right. I went down to my old meditation area just to clear my head, and Ava showed up with my Chirithy in her arms. At first, I was worried because I thought she was going to tell me her dream, but she was just giving me the Chirithy. Right then, I remembered flirting with an old girlfriend of mine before I became a Foreteller, so I pretty much did the same thing to Ava. But I wasn't thinking and I kissed her since that's exactly what I did with my ex at the time."

"Oh my God!" Aced said, covering his eyes with the palms of his hands before pulling his hair back to look at Ira incredulously. "The one time you _don't_ think is the one time you _needed_ to think."

"I know!" Ira shouted in his hands to muffle himself. "But I thought it worked because she was trying to see if I was even the same person. And then I changed personalities twice after that. When I named my Chirithy, Odie, she kissed me."

"Wait," Aced said, holding up his hand and getting a good look at Ira. "Why did you name your Chirithy Odie?"

"It's short for daffodil," Ira answered. "Ava and the Chirithy were looking at my journal of the flowers I found in the area. Daffodils make me smile when I look at them, and the Chirithy said he wanted to make me happy."

"Why were they looking in the book?" Aced asked.

"I used to study geology in the area. I know how to make scrubs and oils from scratch, so I was gonna teach Ava how to make her own. Cheaper than buying one anyway," Ira replied. "There was nothing special behind it."

"What flower did Ava choose?" Aced asked.

"I don't remember the name of it, but it was a wild orchid. Butterflies love the thing," Ira said.

"How did that orchid make you feel when you saw it?" Aced asked, placing his hand on the coffee table between them.

"Adventurous. It smelled like a jungle berry, so it inspired me to want to go exploring," Ira answered. "What are you thinking of?"

"I'm thinking you're fighting a losing battle," Aced sighed, leaning back in the couch. "You said Odie picked the daffodil as an oil fragrance to make you happy, right? Why do you think Ava chose the wild orchid?"

"To be honest, I thought it was the butterflies," Ira replied with a flat look.

"Fair enough," Aced said, chuckling lightly. "You said that orchid made you feel adventurous, right? Let's link adventurous to something you're more familiar with. Let's say she chose that flower to make you more life-like."

Ira took a moment for it to settle in and finally he felt his headache from this morning kicking in to full gear. He then mumbled, "Oh no..."

"Yeah," Aced said, rubbing his temples. "Oh no."

"No. No. No. NO. NO!" Ira shouted, though it just sounded like muffled screaming as he belted it out into his hands.

"Yup, oh no," Aced repeated, sighing and then putting his mask on to return outside in a fouler mood than before. "You may as well stay in here and take a _much_ -needed breather for now. You're in no condition to go patrolling. Drink some tea and try to focus on _anything_ else. Read the book the master left us or some shit. I'm gettin' a beer."

"Thanks, man," Ira grumbled, hearing a grunt with a similar tone matching his own. Dreams will kill a man apparently.

Ira was in no mood for tea, though, and going in the kitchen to make it is what got everyone in this mess! With the master out patrolling like everyone else, he really had no one else to talk to about this. The most he can do is just sit there and concentrate on something else. He didn't feel like reading, but Ira begrudgingly picked up his mask, replaced it on his head, and went upstairs to read the Book of Prophecies. He hadn't completely finished it yet and the Chirithy had just been given out. Odie was about probably talking to the other Chirithy now. He seemed shy. Ira wondered if his comrades named their Chirithy like he did, but he was sure he was the only one who cared enough to do so. He didn't even see Aced's little helper nearby. Unfortunately, by thinking about his comrades, his mind returned to Ava and his lips twitched as though they were missing her lips.

Ira froze up at that with wide eyes in disbelief. With a deep breath, he completely ignored the Foretellers' Chambers and went straight to his room to pace through it with his growing headache. He missed Ava's lips? What? Yeah, no, he was in no condition to concentrate on anything taxing. He needed to clear his head again, and the one place he usually did that in was out of the question because that's where this mess truly started. If he bumped into Ava, who knows what he'd do? Or what she'd do for that matter? Ira completely stopped in his tracks at that point. He's afraid of what she'd do to him? Well, shit, nice going! Now, there's a possibility of him having a crush on Ava!

"What the fuck did I just think?" Ira questioned, feeling his face heat up.

"Sounds like you need a nap, stallion," a familiar voice said before Ira went unconscious.

* * *

His lips weren't so lonely anymore when he woke up. Through blurred vision, he could see someone's face. When he could clearly see that someone, there was Ava pressing innocent kisses to his lips and he was subconsciously and instinctively responding to them with his own smooches. It was right about then that he realized he was kissing Ava for the third time that day. She looked happy to wake him up this way - a little too happy - and she was dressed in something non-Foreteller-like but he couldn't fully see it. So, when Ira backed up only slightly and saw that Ava was wearing next to nothing from his perspective since he could actually see the curve of her ass being defined by her legs folding at the knee and what looked like a pair of panties crossed between being briefs and a thong, he was well passed the point of being shocked with disbelief.

"Bullshit!" Ira exclaimed out of nowhere, startling Ava and running to his balcony with a completely flustered face. "Ava would never wear a thong! Who are you?"

The sight he was blessed with almost made him reconsider going back to sleep. Ava was dressed in a sheer gown that was short enough to be a shirt, the same panties around her small hips, and some small heels with furry accents on the big toe. It was sexy to say the least, but Ava was still a child compared to him. Whether he wanted this to be his fantasy or not, Ava walked towards him like she would if they were speaking in the Foretellers' Chambers about something important like the Book of Prophecies. Yeah, that thing that he was supposed to be reading. Good job, brain. Now, we're being seduced by this cutie of a -

"Why am I thinking like this?" Ira questioned, ruffling his hair into an undignified mess.

Ava just giggled at the man's reaction and said, "Well, you said kissing me wasn't the only thing you were going to do to me earlier. I figured that meant you like me, too. I thought women your age dressed up in stuff like this. Invi wears nice gowns and slippers sometimes."

"But you're _not_ my age," Ira complained, wanting himself to stop staring at the body being handed to him on a platter. He turned to the side and said, "And I just said that to scare you."

"Scare me?" Ava questioned, tilting her head to the side cutely. "Why?"

"Because we need to focus on our _roles_ and not... each other," Ira explained, focusing on Ava's eyes. Pretty hard to do when she's so short because his eyes were aching to wander elsewhere. Ira cleared his throat and successfully managed to be serious before asking Ava, "Now, will you please dress in your proper attire?"

"I'd love to, but there's one problem," Ava said, holding up a finger.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Ira shouted, throwing his head back. "What the hell is it now?"

"I'm not leaving this room until you tell me why..." Ava started, walking over to a small bouquet of wild orchids tied by a ribbon. With her being turned around, Ira pretty much stared right at her butt until he realized his mistake and looked the other way in annoyance. She lifted the bunch of flowers out of its vase, walked over to Ira, and then continued, "this particular flower makes you feel adventurous. I think you just said that word to make it less obvious for what it really ignites within you."

Ira narrowed his eyes visibly, took the flowers from Ava, and said with some growling in his voice, "You have no idea what kind of trouble you're getting yourself into, little girl."

Ava smirked shrewdly and lowered her voice to force Ira to hear the sensual tone laced within to say, "Would I dress myself up like this if I didn't?"

"You're a child," Ira hissed, showing his angrier side. He was becoming more true to his name now. "What could you possibly know about pleasuring another male?"

Ava leaned into Ira's torso, fluttering her eyes to a half-lidded state, and gently rubbed at Ira's crotch to tease him before whispering, "What can you teach me, boss?"

Ira remained silent as he looked into Ava's face. He tried to sense her power to make sure she wasn't some figment of his imagination, but much to his dismay Ava was there and seducing him in ways she shouldn't be. Okay, the girl wants to use him to get out her desires? Fine. Let's see how this goes, brain. Possessively, Ira grabbed Ava's butt tightly like he was going to squeeze the air out of her throat through her left cheek and walked forward, leading her to the bed they once occupied while he was unconscious. He roughly tossed her onto the bed and then took a single flower and broke the bulb at its base to release a purple cloud of pollen and two drops of nectar on his fingers. The face that Ava saw when Ira took off the mask was one of many things: hunger, desire, longing, and mischief. She watched Ira hover above her before pressing two fingers at her entrance. Gently, he gave a long, deep kiss to distract her from his fingers sneakily pulling up the band of panties and rubbing her clitoris with the nectar on it.

Ava gasped, pulled her head back and called out, "Ira! What are y - ?"

"Teaching you how to be my woman," Ira said in a husky, primal voice. "Where did all that confidence go? You seemed so sure about having me."

"I do want you, but I hate the finger thing," Ava replied, blushing shyly. "It's uncomfortable and weird when someone else does it."

"Who the hell touched you like this?" Ira questioned, shooting back in disbelief.

"I'm not telling you one word," Ava said, turning to her side in defiance. "Wha - ?"

Without saying anything else, Ira stood up and walked to the room's door to try and open it. Hot or not, Ava couldn't stay in here and he needed to have a word with Gula if he put his hands in a place he shouldn't know about until he was... Oh, wait, how old was he again? Ava's like 15 or something, right? So he'd be either 15 himself or 16 to 17. Well, if that's the case, then he would be of proper age to be curious. But it's AVA he's curious about. She's supposed to be the cute, innocent one, and Invi's supposed to be the one to ignite certain flames in older men because she's older. So why is Ava trying to bang him? Why?

"The door locks from the outside, Ira," Ava said, tapping his shoulder. When the man smashed his forehead against the door, Ava hummed in question and then rubbed his shoulders gently. She then said, "We don't have to do anything, Ira. I'll wait 'til you're ready."

Ira took a deep breath, smashed his head against the door again, and then said, "Why was it me?"

"Huh?" Ava questioned, trying to see the man's face.

"Your dream," Ira said, not turning away from the door. "Why did you dream about me?"

"Oh, I don't know," Ava responded, embracing Ira from behind. "I just wanted to know what your dream massage was. When I never got an answer, I thought that maybe you didn't want to tell me because it was too sexual. I didn't mind. I only wanted to know if you trusted me with the information, I didn't care about the content of the dream. After me and Aced went in your room to see if you'd tell me what the hint was, we saw you were sleeping so we left and went to ask Invi what her dream massage was. She said she liked the magic stone idea you and me had. I asked Gula and Luxu, too. They liked the parlor idea, but... you weren't with us drawing up the plans. I have a blueprint of the parlor in my room on my wall. It's the first project we came up with as a group that's not related to our roles as Foretellers. The master even framed it. Aced said that my dream was a subconscious desire to be closer to you. He was right. I didn't mean for the dream to turn out sexual. I just wanted to be your friend. After the master told me to give you the Chirithy, I thought maybe I could mention the blueprint to you so you could be part of it, too. You were acting really weird, but there was something else about you that I caught but just couldn't describe. When I finally got to see the sweet, smiling Ira, I was happy and sad. I got to see the kindness you truly possessed, but it wasn't for me. It was for Odie. I knew I'd never see that side to you ever again, so I kissed you just to remind myself that even my leader has this genuine side. I should be thankful that I got to see it. I'm sorry for troubling you so much, Ira."

When Ira turned around then, he watched Ava release him from her embrace and glow a bright pink and yellow color before her Foreteller robes reappeared. She smiled at him brightly as if nothing happened and nodded with determination before slapping her face to focus. She put her fox mask back on and then put a magic spell on the door to open it. The door popped open like it was never locked and she scurried off in the darkness at the other end of the hall. Ira wanted to stop her, but he was frozen with his hand outstretched to her until he dropped it with sadness creeping into his chest. That was all she wanted. To be friends? And through a simple, harmless question, she got her answer. No. He didn't even think there was a deeper meaning behind the dream. Sure, Aced told him that Ava didn't feel trusted, but to feel so unworthy of anything - his affections, his real personality, his dreams - made him feel hurt. Guilt was child's play.

"I'm so sorry, Ava..." Ira whispered to the darkness. "I'm sorry."

* * *

"I'm sorry..." he said aloud.

"Sorry for what?" a familiar voice asked.

Ira was startled by his friend's deep voice. Aced was scared for a second. After he returned to the Tower to talk to Ira, he found the man on the floor mumbling in his sleep. Even Odie, Ira's Chirithy, was afraid that his master was hurt when he tried to shake him awake. When he rushed over to him, he just heard Ira mumbling about dreams and apologizing over and over again. When the master came in to lay a hand on Aced's shoulder, he waved to Ira and held out a hand to help him up.

"You must've had some dream there, stallion," the master with some amusement in his voice.

Ira blushed as he rose to his feet and looked to the side to say, "I guess it could've been much worse."

"Perhaps," the master said, shrugging. He turned around to walk away as he was saying, "If you wanna take a nap, though, you should aim for your bed and not the floor. I doubt it's _that_ comfortable."

Ira blushed redder at this before scratching his cheek in embarrassment. Well, it's not like he expected to just black out. Someone else was in the room beforehand and he... wait... Ira straightened up and questioned the master's nickname for him. He asked, "Did you just call me stallion again, master?"

The master turned around at that and replied, "Yeah? You're my prized stallion, remember? Ladies are startin' to flock to you now. You've got that shapely butt and all."

"Women actually care about that feature on a man?" Aced questioned, watching Ira's Chirithy float to land on Ira's shoulder. The noble Foreteller merely turned to pet the creature before turning back to the master.

"Some do, but you've got all those muscles and perfect teeth, Aced," the master answered, flexing as a demonstration of Aced's prowess. "And a 5 o'clock shadow. Women dig that, too."

Ira frowned a bit and thought back to his dream again. Ava was too... real to be a dream. Her body, her scent, her clothes. He could remember the texture and feelings of it all. She was seducing him too expertly. Then, the ending of the dream came to mind. Was the blueprint a real thing or part of his dream? Should he even ask? He sighed before asking, "Master, does Ava have a blueprint in her room?"

"A blueprint?" Aced questioned, putting a hand on his hip. "You mean, the parlor blueprint? You dreamt of it?"

"Yes," Ira admitted softly.

Now, Aced was confused but intrigued. Ira was asleep when they came up with the plans for Ava's dream parlor. He wouldn't have known anything about that unless Ava told him about it when she apparently kissed him earlier. There was a chance he woke up when they made all the commotion about Ava's parlor idea in her room. He and Gula did have a heated argument over what Ava should wear as a uniform. Aced was thinking something short and sexy because his dream massage involved legs, but Gula didn't want some weirdo trying to feel up his friend. The master was all chuckles then. Invi and Luxu were more on the professional side like a silk shirt and some cotton pants or leggings. Regardless of all that, Ira was sleeping through their group talk. Hell, the only people who know about Ira's dream massage was Ira and Aced. Ira doesn't talk about sex because he's too scared of being called a pervert. What the hell is going on between these two? Right as he was thinking deeply, the master started snickering. Both Foretellers watched as the master slowly loosened up from his more playful seriousness to full-on hysterics. His entire body was trembling as he desperately tried to hold in his laughter, but it was getting harder by the second. When Aced and Ira waited on the man to give an explanation, they both began to regret having reasonable expectations from their teacher.

"I take it this dream wasn't really a dream, was it?" Ira questioned, fear creeping into his chest.

"Oh, it was," the master replied through fits of giggles. "But I can smell a hint of fear from you, Ira. I don't think you're ready to hear the truth. What do you think Aced?"

Ira turned to look at Aced and noticed a mischievous smirk and dark chuckle coming from the man. So, there was something that Aced knew or at least realized after putting the puzzle pieces together. He then shouted with widened eyes, "You _knew_ something about this whole thing?"

"Actually, no," Aced replied. "I just took a wild guess. The master just said that I was right and told me to be here when you woke up."

Ira gulped, looked between the two men, and then asked, "What did you guess?"

"That dream that Ava had wasn't hers at all," Aced responded, shocking Ira enough to make him gasp and shut up immediately. "Ava doesn't think about sex on her own or in dreams. She's pure. In fact, after the master spoke to you in the library, I went back to my room to find Ava there. She was too scared to tell you anything, so she pleaded for a different way to handle her situation. I asked her for some details about this disturbing thing she called a nightmare, and she said something that seemed too coincidental. She described your dream massage in _exact_ detail from the atmosphere you prefer to the scent of the oil you like. I know for a fact you never told her anything about it, so I guessed that someone else told her. I didn't tell her. Only you could have told her your secret and you didn't, so I guessed that the master showed her the truth through the dream."

"You what?" Ira shouted in disbelief. "Master, why?"

"Ava was disappointed when you weren't with us," the master said with that playful seriousness. "We tried to cheer her up, but she started wondering about how you felt about her. That's when I noticed she felt mistrusted, so I gave her a Chirithy early and let it show her the truth. You see, the Chirithy is a Dream Eater. It makes sure you have pleasant dreams when you're sleeping. Whatever makes you happy is what it wants for you. Right, Odie?"

Odie's ears perked up at the sound of his name. He was starting to feel left out as the two men tortured his master with their secrets, but he felt better now that he was getting involved in the conversation. He wiggled his nose a bit before nodding and saying, "Yes. Oh! My daffodils!"

Ira watched the Chirithy hop off his shoulder and then scurry to the forgotten flowers on the floor. The little creature picked up each one and ran back to Ira to hold them up so the man could take them. Ira knelt down to take the four daffodils from Odie and smiled before petting him. He then said sweetly, "Thank you, Odie."

"Your welcome, Master Ira," Odie said, closing his eyes with content as Ira scratched under his chin.

"Just like that, the Chirithy can enter your dreams and make them as pleasing as you want them to be," the master continued to explain. "Ava's Chirithy noticed that her master wasn't happy, so she entered your dream and isolated the truth from it to give to Ava. Upon my command, of course."

"But... you said the Ira in her dream was like me to a fault. That means she wasn't in my fantasy the way I pictured it just now. If her Chirithy took out the truth from me and placed it in the dream Ira, why did she react the way she did?" Ira asked, turning to the master with some confusion.

"Ah, but that's where it gets interesting," the master said, walking back to Ira and leaning down to speak again. "Ava froze up after dream Ira's confession. That was the real Ava's reaction to your fantasy, but I wondered if her reaction would surprise you or not so I told the Chirithy to give you her reaction through your own dream. Whatever happened afterwards could be given back to Ava. I assumed that you would just tease her about her curiosity and agree to be friends because you're the noble, cool-headed type. Besides, that's all she wanted. But imagine my surprise when Ava's Chirithy was too afraid to show Ava your dream."

"No..." Ira whispered, shaking his head lightly in disbelief.

"I didn't look at the dream myself. I only told the Chirithy to give Ava your reaction," the master said, standing up straight again. "Who would have guessed my prized stallion actually had a mind so dirty it throws himself off-balance?"

"Who indeed?" Aced questioned, grinning darkly as he left the room.

"Welp, I've got to teach you five about these new bangles I made," the master said, clapping his hands in one booming motion. "I'll leave you alone now. Don't be so gloomy, Ira. On the bright side, now you know the truth about Ava's feelings... and your own, big butt."

With that, the master stopped talking altogether and watched Ira flop on the edge of his bed in complete shock. So, Ava's wet dream was really _his_ dream? That's impossible! He never thought about Ava or Invi in that way, even when they weren't Foretellers. Only Aced has thought about Invi as a potential girlfriend. Ava was like half his age! He wasn't that desperate for a girlfriend or a mate.

After a moment of silence, Ira finally spoke up again, "But... whose dream was that just now?"

"Yours," the master replied, interested in Ira's attentive reaction. He then said, "Well, up until the last part. That's why Odie's here with you now. He gave you Ava's truth. She's taking a nap. Weird night and all. Whatever was going on in your dream before that is all you, stallion."

The master was surprised by Ira's eyes suddenly welling up and the look of pure disgust on his face. The Foreteller then said to himself, "I'm a disgusting cretin!"

"No, you're n - " the master tried to say before he was interrupted.

"Yes!" Ira said, a look of helplessness in his eyes now. "Yes, I am. Ava's pure and my selfish desire is to destroy that. This darkness is terrible! I'm a monster!"

"No, you're not," the master said sternly. "Your dream isn't a subconscious desire to have your way with a child. It's just a projection of what you feel for her deep down. Aced said he told Ava that she just wanted to be your friend. I think that's what you're responding to. You said sorry over and over again in your sleep. That means you never wanted to push her away. You do want to be her friend. Sure, the dream got a little _too friendly_ , but it's not that bad."

Odie looked up into Ira's face and saw that he was slowly accepting the Master's words. He then whispered softly, "Don't cry, Master Ira. I'll get more daffodils, okay?"

Ira turned to Odie and embraced him with a growing smile. He then said, "These were enough for me, little Odie. Thank you. I guess a friendship between us is something we both want, but I don't understand why intimacy came to mind."

"You know..." the master started, putting a finger under his chin. "Ava does have that outfit you saw in the dream."

"What!?" Ira shouted, hopping to his feet. "S-s-since when? Why does she have that? Why do you _know_ she has it?"

"She wore it," the Master said, shrugging the question off like it was trivial. "Quite a few times even."

"Who saw her wearing it other than you?" Ira questioned in shock.

"Everyone except you, stallion," the master replied, waving a hand in the air. "You were sleeping. She said she just bought it two weeks ago. A wielder recommended it to her. I think Luxu might've died a little bit when he saw it, but Gula and Aced were cool about it. Invi got a gown as a present. Aced died a little bit then. Funniest shit ever."

"But you can _see_ her!" Ira argued, face as red as a cherry-flavored candy.

"Oh my," the master said, chuckling at Ira's face. "Did you see the booty?"

"Please stop..." Ira said, covering his face with his hands and feeling that headache from this morning coming back. "All of this bullshit happened over a parlor idea?"

"Yup," the master answered. "Too bad you missed it. C'mon, I'll show you where she stashed the lingerie."

"Master, I've heard enough!" Ira argued, turning the other way.

He was beyond confused now. He missed like a million things within the span of a few hours in one night! Ava wearing sexy lingerie, the group making her dream parlor, her wet dream that apparently was really his dream, and Ava's whole nervousness in this secret fantasy she had. The Master even knows where Ava keeps her lingerie! Why does he know that? Why does everyone know that? Is nothing sacred among the Foretellers anymore? A thought then crossed Ira's mind and he asked the cloak-wearing man.

"Wait, what was I wearing in Ava's dream?" Ira asked. "Is it something that I actually have?"

"Yeah, that green linen pajama suit in your closet," the master responded, making Ira turn with a raised eyebrow. That's all? That's not nearly as sexy as what she wore in his dream. The master then said, "You know, the one with no buttons. She saw a lot more of you than usual but not like you saw her. I think it was a good thing you were asleep because your reaction right now tells me you're not ready for Ava."

"I think I died on the inside," Ira commented, making Odie worry. He sat back down on his bed and said, "Why is all of this happening now? I don't understand."

"Meh," the master replied, shrugging. "This is pretty boring stuff actually. You both just want to be friends in the end, right? That's really not that exciting. Unless... deep down, _you_ don't really want to be friends, Ira."

"I'd rather keep it on the friend level," Ira said in a rush to end the conversation. Anything that'd end this conversation would be enough for him.

"Good. We'll be in the meeting room discussing those neat, little bangles I made," the master said, walking out of the room this time. Before he completely disappeared, the master shouted through the door, "I'll tell Aced to keep his trap shut."

Ira flopped on his back and grumbled at the notion that Aced would never let him forget about this whole scenario...


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: *sighs* You know... This was meant to be a one-shot. I only added a second chapter because I didn't show Ira's dream about Ava, but a few readers asked about Ira's feelings so I decided to make a third chapter. Then again, I say that and I'll wind up with a fourth chapter before you know it. Oh well, enjoy this juicier than necessary chapter.

* * *

He would do just about anything to get out of this meeting. LITERALLY... Ira practically stopped paying attention to the Master's grand explanation about the purpose of the bangles after he touched upon the major points. Was there still red wine in the cellar downstairs? Of course, the Master purposely installed a cellar separate from the tower just in case someone decided to get a quick sip-sip and grow a terrible addiction. Which was great because Ira saw a bottle with his name written on it in silver marker. He already started making plans on taking the blender and a bucket of ice out of the kitchen while everyone was preparing to take baths and retire for the night. What would go great with red wine? Dark chocolate? Gods yes! How much munny was in his treasury? A couple million? He could dabble in some spare change for a night away from it all. He remembered the large tub meant for chilling certain bottles that the Master was particularly careful with, but he had no intention of chilling that much wine for a night. No, Ira had other plans for the big wooden tub.

"Well, Ira, what do you think?" the Master asked, breaking his thoughts.

Damn, he didn't hear that last part. What did he hear? Oh, the bangles collect dark energy! Ira gathered his thoughts and said, "Collecting dark energy sounds beneficial, but I worry that there will be wielders who will strictly focus on that and use that same energy to fight fire with fire. How can we ensure that this won't backfire?"

"Are you saying you don't _trust_ me?" the Master asked, sounding offended.

"N-n-no," Ira replied, flinching at the notion. "I'm simply looking at it from a needed perspective. In an ideal world, all wielders are as loyal to us as we are to you. However, darkness can wear a convincing disguise. We can't be too careless."

"Very good, Ira," the Master said, pleased with his reply.

Ira nodded and zoned out when Invi started asking the Master more questions. On that note, Ira went back to picking out things that would go great with a strong, aged red wine. His mouth was starting to salivate at the mere notion. That's right! He stopped at the dark chocolate. What's a nice fruit that would send him to another place where his comrades didn't exist? There's an endless selection. Strawberries? Nope, too sexy and reminds him of Ava and her... crush on him. Blueberries? Nope, reminds him of Invi. Peaches would be heavenly but they remind him of his ex. Bananas? Gay. Hey, what about raspberries? Yeah, and a small hint of cake with soft creme. Hells yeah! That bath house shop opens late tonight, too? Fantastic! He could pick up those soft beads that soak up in hot water and mold to his body's shape. Plans made! Speed this shit up, Master!

"Welp, meeting adjorned everyone," the Master said. "I'm gonna go patrol the town. May your heart be your guiding key."

Oh, it's guiding him alright. Go ahead and patrol away, Master. Once said man left the room, Ira followed after him and quietly snuck away to his room. He could feel his comrades eyes on him, but he chose to ignore them and quietly entered his sleeping chamber. He walked to the furthest wall in front of him to search for a smaller key behind the headboard of his bed. No one followed him. No one talked to him. No one stopped him. Perfect. He found his key hanging on a nail carved out from the headboard and slowly pulled it out so he wouldn't drop it. When he placed it in his robes, he quickly warped to the Treasury Room in the east wing of the tower. Ira gingerly took about 2000 munny and 1500 jewels from his treasure chest and packed it away to go shopping, completely ignoring the presence now following him. He idly called out to Odie to join him and waited for the Chirithy to catch up to him with his little legs. Whoever was following Ira could wait. He needed to clear his head for a while, and he didn't want to think about ANYTHING this time.

* * *

His trip through Daybreak Town was actually pleasant. Odie seemed to enjoy picking flowers and asking Ira about them. The vibrant red poppies were a favorite for the Chirithy and, of course, the daffodils. Some blue daisies and a regal violent caught the little one's attention as well. By the time the two returned home, Ira guessed the Chirithy would have a bouquet ready for him. He didn't mind it, though. Odie wanted his master to be happy, and the flowers were the only things he knew would work. Ira stopped walking for a moment to guide Odie to a garden where some colorful roses were. He picked out a radiant orange rose and dusky purple rose from two separate bushes and made sure to dethorn them before adding them to the Chirithy's collection. When he finished, Ira and Odie continued their shopping with the cakes and chocolate and bath beads picked out. Ira even took the spare munny to buy pajamas for Odie and himself. The Chirithy was more thrilled to be accessorized than anything. Ira smiled at that, which made Odie shyly ask to go shopping for more items, and he chuckled at the simple request before nodding in response. Odie was better at helping him avoid thinking than a human or a pet! As gratitude, Ira went on ahead and bought Odie a necktie and cuffs with red pearl links.

After laughing softly from Odie's excitement, Ira found himself being nuzzled by his new friend and attracting a few wielders from his union. His day seemed to get better and better with time. A small group of wielders decided to follow him around town, feeling that he was approachable when he smiled. He didn't realize he was such an intimidating figure until they brought it up. The group of wielders seemed to be a small party of eight. The party leader was out on a mission in Beast's Castle from the sounds of it. The others were curious about Ira's good mood and held off on their mission out of curiosity. They asked multiple questions about light, darkness, and everyday concerns that a teenager would be wrapped up in. He found himself liking the conversations he was engaged in with his younger followers. Most of them admitted liking seeing Ira smile and behave like a normal person. They were so used to him being the serious mentor that they didn't realize he was actually cooler as a person.

"Master Ira, is it okay if we stay with you for a little longer?" a young girl with pink hair styled in long ponytails and red overalls asked. "I finished my missions for the day."

"That'd be cool! It's not every day you get to talk to a Foreteller. Let alone be around one," a young boy with dark blue hair and a casual blue outfit said.

Ira reasoned that they were close friends and smiled at them. Meh, why not? He could use the distraction. He nodded at them and said gently, "I don't mind. I'm hungry as a horse anyway."

"That was cheesy, Master Ira!" the girl said, giggling. "C'mon! I know a great place to get a burger."

"Actually, I could go for a steak," Ira remarked, putting a finger under his chin. "I wonder if that old restaurant on the edge of town is still there..."

"An old restaurant?" the boy questioned, scratching his head. His wavy, dark blue locks danced between his fingers from the motion. "What's it called?"

"The Spotted Kitten," Ira responded. "It used to be a live music venue. Because of its popularity, a restaurant was opened. Over time, it grew. I used to go there a lot before I became a Foreteller."

"Aw, I'm jealous!" the girl complained, pouting. "That means there were people who knew you before you were Master Ira - friends from back then."

Ira chuckled at this and said, "Well, I wouldn't say that, but I did have a girlfriend that I used to take there."

"Really?" the boy questioned, eyes widening from the unexpected information. "Didn't expect that. What was she like?"

"She was unbearably smart," Ira replied, leading the two to the direction of the restaurant. "But she was always there to get me out of trouble and was sweet as flower nectar."

"Aw, that's so romantic!" the girl remarked. She then realized something and asked, "What happened to her?"

Ira shrugged his shoulders and took a deep breath to simmer his strongest feelings down. He then said, "My master found me and wanted to teach me about the light and darkness. I soon started seeing Heartless and my future under his wings. She didn't understand it all, so we started spending less time together. Our feelings kept changing over time and before I knew it... She was gone. It was an emotional time, but I don't regret any of it. Our hearts were connected in a way that surpassed even rational thought. The last time I saw her, she was with someone else and she was happy. That's what I really wanted for her in the end. To be happy... even if it meant not seeing her for a long time."

"Do you miss her?" the boy asked, looking down at the ground. He looked ashamed to ask that question and like he was wrapped up in his own thoughts about someone else. Maybe he, too, had a girlfriend that he recently split up from.

"Sometimes," Ira answered. "But only when I'm on a mission nowadays."

"Why then?" the girl asked, tilting her head cutely.

"To remind myself why I chose to fight for the light," Ira said, stopping his journey. He looked up into the sky, feeling a gentle breeze pass across his skin, and smiled. He then continued, "My mission is to gather Lux not just to maintain the balance between powers but to give it to the people we leave behind when we battle the darkness. I want people like her to always have a sun to light their days long after mine are over. I want to give her a world that grows and changes with the seasons because I want her to see how beautiful the seasons truly are, too. Ever since I started this journey as a guardian of light, I noticed that simple things like flowers are precious. If I can give her those things as a Foreteller and a man, then fighting on the side of light is a simple thing. I will fight if it will give her a world where she can be free and never fear."

"That's what makes you the one, huh?" the boy remarked, making Ira turn and hum in response. Gula said something similar, didn't he? The boy looked up and smiled to say, "The leader of the Foretellers. Fight for the light so the rest of us have a _peaceful_ future not just a _guaranteed_ future. That's a goal I can get behind."

The girl nodded in agreement and said, "Me too!"

"Me three!" Odie cheered, hugging Ira's face and making him laugh.

Ira's stomach growled obnoxiously and reminded him of why he was headed to the edge of town. He then said, "Well, it won't do us any good if we fight on an empty stomach. Besides, I have no idea what Odie eats."

"Odie likes sweets," the Chirithy replied. "Master Ava gave me some before we left, and we ate cake at the bakery."

"Sugar will make you fat," Ira scolded gently. "You're eating a fruit salad instead."

"Actually, I could go for a side salad," the girl commented, walking ahead of the group. "With whipped cream on top!"

"Hey, wait for me!" the boy called, following the girl and Odie.

Ira was about to follow them when he felt a familiar presence behind him again. He turned sharply to see who it might have been but saw no one there. Not wanting to lower his guard, he merely kept a closer eye on his surroundings as he walked away. He had to be especially mindful of his followers' safety. He also had to remind himself to ask for their names. While he wasn't a forgetful person, he did have many in his union. A reminder helped him keep up with who's who. Regardless, Ira proceeded to follow his small group with caution unaware that he was being followed by two very familiar presences.

Master Invi waited until Ira disappeared from her direct line of vision before coming out of the shadows. She didn't want to disturb her leader and was surprised by the new information she just heard, but it didn't convince her about Aced's words when they left the meeting.

* * *

 _ **A couple of hours ago...**_

 _"Ira's acting strange today," Invi remarked in a whispering tone. "I've never seen him so quiet before."_

 _"Neither is Ava. She didn't say anything at all during this meeting. That's rare on her part," Gula said._

 _Both Foretellers looked at Aced who just chuckled and shook his head lightly before walking off. He also was quiet during the meeting and he's never quiet about anything, but he also never smiles during their meetings and his lips were trapped in an amused state the entire time. Even the master was behaving differently! He normally was really upbeat about his creations and how they affected their roles, but he was more serious and sounded less interested in the bangles. He even paid special attention to Ira, speaking slowly and asking him questions to keep him up to speed. It was like he knew Ira was terribly distracted today, and Aced also knew the same thing but found it funny. Suspicious of their most vital leaders being silent, the two decided to follow Aced and demand an explanation._

 _"You know what's going on, don't you?" Invi asked, stopping Aced from leaving the chamber._

 _"About what?" Aced asked, genuinely confused by the question. It was too general to be strictly about Ira and Ava._

 _"What's the deal with you four? The master's more serious in meetings, Ira's tight-lipped, Ava's avoiding eye contact, and you're smiling an awful lot. Something's up. So... what the hell?" Gula asked, getting straight to the point._

 _"Gula!" Invi scolded._

 _"Would you rather that or the f word?" Gula asked, folding his arms and giving Invi an uninterested look through his mask._

 _"I'd rather know what happened," Invi replied, turning her attention back to Aced who was grinning darkly now. "What's with that smile?"_

 _"How bad do you want to know, Invi?" Aced asked in a more seductive tone, making the shy Foreteller blush._

 _"With that tone? Not that much," Gula remarked, flinching. He turned to walk away and said, "Let me know what he says, Invi."_

 _"Trust me, she won't be able to repeat it back," Aced replied, putting a hand on his hip. "That's even if she REALLY wants to know. So then... how bad do you want to know, Master Invi?"_

 _"Alright, you're scaring me," Gula said, turning around. "What do you know?"_

 _"Depends on where you want me to begin," Aced answered._

 _"Um..." Invi started, thinking about the situation. Which part bothered her more? The master being serious or the unusual silence from Ira? Well, the master was watching Ira half the time, so it must be Ira causing everyone to act weird. May as well start there. She then decided on that and said, "Start with Ira."_

 _"Very well," Aced replied, removing his mask. "I can either start with what happened this morning or what happened before the meeting. Take your pick and choose wisely."_

 _"Okay, no, you're really scaring me. What the fuck?" Gula questioned._

 _"What happened before the meeting? That's my only concern right now," Invi said._

 _"To be blunt, and pardon my language, Invi. I know you hate cussing," Aced started, walking up close to the two. "Ira was close to having a fuck dream about Ava. Close being the operative word."_

 _"What!?" Invi and Gula shouted more than questioned._

 _"Bullshit!" Gula said, waving a hand to dismiss the mere thought of such a thing._

 _"Think about it. You're not a dumb kid," Aced said darkly. "Why else would the master focus his attention on Ira? Why would Ira be so shut off from the rest of us?"_

 _"Ira's almost always to himself," Gula replied. "Besides, he's never shown interest in anyone romantically. I thought he was a monk or a celibate when I met him."_

 _Aced stopped smiling at that when Invi nodded at Gula's words. That concerned him even more than what Ava said. Ira really doesn't talk to anyone about anything. How is he supposed to be the leader if he doesn't know who's supposed to be following him? He thought at least Invi knew a bit more about him because she can keep a secret, but Invi just agreed with Gula and by default Ava. Gula, being the one who could give two shits about anything, is probably the most approachable out of the entire group because he's a good listener and secretive. He doesn't even talk to him? He was lost more than ever now._

 _Aced decided to just tell the truth to them out of annoyance and confessed the whole story, "Well, he's not. He's about as sexual as a normal person and was proud of it once. That was what I respected about him so much. He was proud of who he was and where he came from. He didn't let anyone tell him otherwise. He also has a good heart. Anyone would want to follow him because of that. When he became an apprentice like the rest of us, he changed for the better and shunned any desires he used to have. Every now and then, we'd talk about our past lives over a beer or two."_

 _"Ira drinks?" Gula questioned, tone laced with utter disbelief._

 _Aced looked at Gula and took note of how serious he and Invi took this information. They really don't know about Ira at all. He then asked, "You don't know anything about him either, do you?"_

 _"What else is there to know? He has these kinds of dreams about every girl?" Invi questioned._

 _"No, he's not a pervert!" Aced defended, almost insulted by the question as if it were directed at him. In reality, it sort of was. He and Ira had a lot in common on a personal level. Aced ignored his feelings and continued, "This was recently. As in last night recently. Last night, the master performed an experiment on those pets he was giving us. He took a piece of Ira's dream first and read through it just to see if anyone familiar was in it. He just so happened to see Ava in the dream the most. He didn't really analyze it or anything because we all were in the same dream doing different things. Since it seemed harmless, he gave his dream piece to Ava's pet thing. Her reaction to it interested the master, so he took her reaction to the dream and gave it to Ira. When he tried to take Ira's reaction out, the little pet thing was resistant and scared, so he read through some of it and convinced the pet to give it to Ava. I found Ava in the kitchen and she told me what she saw: an unfiltered fuck dream. I found it amusing because I thought it was her first wet dream, but she said something to me that bothered me. It was like what you just said, Gula. You don't know Ira beyond the mask and his constant thinking. Neither did she. I told her to tell Ira about the dream, not knowing about the experiment."_

 _"Why would a **young girl** as sweet as Ava want to tell an **adult male** like Ira about such a thing? I would think he's too noble - " Invi said before immediately stopping. "Oh, I see..."_

 _"See what?" Gula asked._

 _"You were telling her to use that dream as a way to get to know Ira the way you do," Invi said. "I wouldn't think to tell him about such dreams because I don't know how he'd react. I also would think he wouldn't want to know because it's too dirty compared to him. We don't even think he drinks, but you know he does."_

 _"Ira's pretty normal to me. I mean Luxu was - " Gula started before stopping._

 _That's right! Last night, Luxu was talking about this girl from Invi's union that he had a crush on and wanted Gula's opinion on the matter. When they tried to talk to Ira about it, Ira's thoughts about Ava discouraged Luxu from telling him about how sexy he thought the girl really was. Ira never said he had desires for Ava. He only said he thought about how valuable she was as a defender of light._

 _ **"Such noble thinking shouldn't be corrupted"** is what Luxu told him after Ira had left. _

_It wasn't just Invi who wouldn't have thought to tell Ira about anything of a dirtier nature. It was almost everyone!_

 _"Wow," Gula finally responded after some thought._

 _"Did she tell Ira about the dream?" Invi asked._

 _"No," Aced answered, hearing Invi let out a relieved sigh. "I found her in front of my bedroom door after I left the kitchen. She said she was too scared to tell Ira because it felt too real to be just some dream, so I asked her what dream Ira said to her to make it seem like it was the real Ira. She told me everything Ira said about a fantasy he had. The only problem with that was that Ira **DID** have a fantasy just like the one she told me. That worried me, so I went to find the master to ask if maybe he told Ava or if she had overheard him. I just so happened to catch the master leaving the library, and he told me the whole story."_

 _"So, Ira's always had a crush on Ava? Or is that a recent thing?" Gula asked, now a little confused._

 _" **That** I'm still not sure about," Aced answered honestly. "He's never said he was attracted to her or Invi before. Everything dealing with him has been recently. Starting from last night, especially. Ava's a different story. The master bought some books for Ava in the library months ago. They were directly related to those dreams she had about her future husband."_

 _"Oh, she told you about that, too?" Gula remarked but not giving it any real thought. "Well, it's innocent enough, but she never sees the guy's face or anything. The guy could be anyone."_

 _"Name me three features she distinctly told you that described the guy in her dreams," Aced challenged, looking directly into Gula's eyes._

 _"I guess being tall and toned isn't distinct enough," Invi said after a pause, surprising Aced. So Ava did tell just about everyone about it... except Ira. Invi then realized something and said, "Oh! She did say he had a mole on his left shoulder."_

 _"Come to think of it..." Gula said, tilting his head upwards to the ceiling to think carefully. "She said an odd one a while back. I think it was a callous on the right middle finger. Before, when she first told me about it, she said something about dimples in his back."_

 _"Lower or upper?" Aced asked, already knowing the answer to the question._

 _"I think she said lower," Gula replied. "But what does that have to do with Ira? Does he have any of those features?"_

 _"He has ALL of those features," Aced said, giving his mask a good look before placing it back on his head. "I don't know how she knows about those three in particular, but the master figured out who matched that exact description. He just kept it a secret. It's really Ira's response to everything that's got him curious. That's why he's been focused on him throughout the meeting. The fact that Ira's as quiet as he is right now means he's distracted by something, but it's not by Ava this time. I think Ira's trying to figure out how to get some time to himself so he can properly focus on his role. That's essentially what Ira cares about the most. If you think I'm just pulling your leg, follow him around and see for yourselves."_

* * *

"So, Ira had a girlfriend before he met us?" Invi questioned aloud, hearing Gula hum in thought.

"Guess so. He cared deeply for her from the sound of it," Gula said with a worried tone. "That answers why he never really thought about you or Ava in a romantic way. I don't think he ever got over his ex. He didn't pursue anyone else after her and wished for her happiness despite the pain he felt."

"But even so, his desire for a safer world is pure and true," Invi said. "It's admirable if not a little sad."

"Doesn't look good for Ava, though," Gula whispered. "I don't want her to be heartbroken from all this. It's already confusing for them."

"Maybe the best thing to do is to simply watch. They need to figure this out on their own," Invi said. "If Ava hasn't realized that she's been dreaming about Ira yet, then that means her dreams haven't advanced to the level of Ira's presumed response. We don't even know what fantasy Ira had that triggered all of this."

"It couldn't have been THAT bad," Gula said, waving off the notion. "If Ava was able to retell it to Aced at all, then she didn't dive that deep into Ira's world."

"But how deep did she manage to get?" Invi questioned, looking into the sky to see dandelion seeds fluttering in the wind.

* * *

Ira could confidently say that he enjoyed his time with his union members and Odie. After he escorted them to their homes, he walked with Odie to the watch tower where a quiet wine cellar was awaiting him. He was happy that his chocolate didn't melt yet, but he also frequently put a minor Blizzard spell on it to keep it solid. As he was approaching the entrance to the tower, he finally felt another familiar presence nearby but it was closer than the others he felt before. He swiftly turned around and lightly gasped before Odie said...

"Master Ava!"

Ava looked up with surprise to see Ira and Odie carrying bags. She looked outrageously tired as she waved and didn't even bother to put up a front about it. Ira waved back in response and chose to show a slight smirk instead of a full-on smile. No more of the double-personality trick this time, brain. Ira simply watched Odie hop off his shoulder and hop from one foot to the other. Good, the Chirithy can distract her. He won't have to talk. Sorry, Ava, Ira's in shut-off mode until tomorrow. Odie ran to her despite the obvious fatigue from the other Foreteller and gave her a big hug. He even gave her a healthy, red poppy flower from his bouquet.

"Oh!" Ava replied, giggling softly. She said, "It's beautiful, Odie. Where'd you get this?"

"Master Ira took me exploring in town today," the Chirithy explained. "We made new friends and we went shopping! I collected all the pretty flowers when we went to the gardens and meadows. There were so many to see! Now I feel bad, though. You didn't get to see any of them..."

"You're so sweet, Odie," Ava said, cuddling the little creature. "But don't worry. One day, we'll go together. We'll collect some dandelions and make wishes. I'll wish for you to find as many daffodils as you can so that Master Ira will keep smiling just for you."

Odie hummed for a moment and then said, "I like that wish, but I don't know if that's the one I would wish for..."

Ava perked up at this. She thought for sure Odie liked seeing Ira smile. She then asked out of pure curiosity, "Oh? What would you wish for?"

Odie looked down at his flowers, afraid to say his next choice of words out loud, and whispered into Ava's ears instead. He said, "Well, earlier, Master Ira called himself a creep and he looked so sad. He had a dream of being unkind to you, and he was so upset by it that he was saying apologies in his sleep. He really is sorry about these dreams. I don't think he's a creep at all if he's sorry. I think he's a special light and... I'd like to be his friend like the other wielders we met today. Because if I'm his friend then I get to see him smile the way he did before. I wish you could've seen it. Three parties came to visit us just to talk to him, even a smaller one from Master Gula's union. That's my greatest wish. To be friends like today."

"That's a great wish, Odie," Ava said in a whispering voice, smiling sadly. Odie turned to the tired Foreteller, hearing the sadness in her voice. She then smiled brightly and said, "Well, sounds like you had a better day than me. I'm beat!"

"What happened, Master Ava?" Odie asked.

"Oh, I was just training one of my wielders. He's really strong. Great potential!" Ava replied, losing more energy than she can produce to respond with gestures.

"Looks like he trained _you_ harder than you trained him," Ira remarked, smirking in a friendly, joking manner.

"I'll say..." Ava mumbled.

"Here," Ira said, handing Ava a bag of shrunken beads. "Dump these in hot water for your bath. You'll feel better."

Ava took the bath beads and then looked up to question Ira, but she was silenced when she saw the gentle smile on his face. It must have been the same one that Odie saw because the Chirithy hopped out of Ava's arms and into Ira's to nuzzle in the Foreteller's neckline. The sweet gestures being displayed by them both sort of woke a different side to Ava. She then remembered the creature's words. Ira was sorry about the dreams he was having? Sorry about being unkind to her? She never had dreams of being mistreated. She only ever had dreams of being catered to and embraced. Wait a minute, what was that other meeting about with the Master and Aced? Luxu was with them, too. The Master whispered something to him and made Luxu follow Ira after he left the room. Even earlier today, she spotted Gula and Invi talking about something. She was sure Ira was there, but he must've left them behind or something. Did Ira have a dream about her, too? Then, the young Foreteller snapped...

"Odie..." Ava called, eyebrow twitching. When Odie perked up at hearing his name, she then said, "Would you mind waiting in Ira's room for me? I have to talk to him about something important. I forgot about it after training."

Ira was no fool. He sensed the anger lurking underneath those words. Odie nodded at Ava and disappeared in a ball of light to do as told. When he did, it was a death glare match between the Foretellers. One of them was bound to break the silence, and, after a few moments of pissed-off silence, Ira finally spoke up.

"Your question was what exactly?" Ira asked, no longer smiling or smirking. He was in serious mode now.

"Have you been having sex dreams about me?" Ava asked, not even sparing a blink in between the question. It wasn't subtle.

"Hey, kettle. I'm pot. Nice to meet you," Ira greeted, furrowing his eyebrows at the question.

"Don't be coy!" Ava argued. "I haven't been able to sleep since last night, and Aced won't tell me anything about why you were so tight-lipped earlier at the meeting. So say it."

"Say what?" Ira asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That you dreamed about me in a non-friendly way," Ava replied, raising her voice and flushing out of anger.

"Only if you admit the same sin, kettle," Ira answered calmly, walking towards Ava until he was close enough to lower his voice and add a growl to it. "Having a fuck dream about your leader isn't exactly appropriate or lady-like."

"Fine, ya big pony pot!" Ava insulted, stomping her foot. "I might have had... a _particularly_ uncomfortable fantasy that... involved you."

"Doing what?" Ira probed, more curious to see if Ava would say it.

"Don't you make me say it!" Ava snapped. "Almost everyone knows now!"

"Very well," Ira said, surprising Ava enough to calm her down. "Yes, I had one of you after we met at the clearing, but it didn't escalate to the level your dream had. I was more confused by why you were pursuing me. I still am. That dream was more or less a reflection of that confusion."

"You said... it didn't escalate to what I dreamt, right?" Ava asked, earning a nod from the man. She let out a deep breath, pouted, blushed a bit, and then said, "Well, to make this short, I guess I sort of have a crush on you, Ira. You're very noble and kind and thoughtful. You're always thinking ahead and, even when you're distracted, you focus on the important things. It's... kind of annoying actually. Yesterday, I might have lied a little about the Master teaching me how to give him a massage. I told him about this dream I had about a future husband. He was just massaging my back, but there was something about the dream that bothered me. I couldn't figure out what it was. He told me to describe the man, but..."

"But?" Ira probed.

Ava blushed, gulped, and then said, "I... I couldn't. Not to the master anyway. Since I was too embarrassed to say, he taught me how to do massages. The dream still bothered me, though. I couldn't figure out why, so I told Gula instead and described the guy to him. It was a little more appropriate between us, after all. I didn't know the master was eavesdropping on us but, when I finished, he was laughing. I thought it was because of what I said, but it turned out that he wasn't laughing at what I said but who I described. He's the one who told me that I was dreaming about you. After that, I got scared because... we hadn't even shared a friendship yet. We still didn't in the end. With our new roles now, it looks like we'll never be friends. I wanted that most of all... Just to be friends..."

Ira gasped then said, "You said something similar in my dream! No, almost exactly like that."

Ava perked up at this and said, "I did?"

Ira nodded and replied, "Yes, and... I wanted to apologize to you. I never meant for you to feel mistrusted or disliked or even weird. You're too valuable as a protector of light and you're still growing as a person. Soon, you'll be the most admired leader of us all. I'm sorry this crush is stressing you out so much. Sounds like it was eating you alive."

Ava was quiet for a moment. Quiet enough to alert Ira that she was frozen. Her lips twitched for a second, making Ira furrow his eyebrows at the strange gesture, and she started to form a sentence but dropped it and only made a noise in its place. Ira's lips puckered in a curious bow and it only grew more prominent when Ava subconsciously reached her hand out to touch him. Only her hand didn't make it to his face and he stood with an odd tension in his shoulders. His skin sort of... ached to feel her fingertips against his cheek if that was where she was going to caress him. It didn't seem like an aggressive move was about to stir from her.

She finally alleviated the silence and responded, "You know... part of me... hates you."

"What?" Ira questioned, not understanding.

"In the dream... that's what I was feeling," Ava responded. "Frustration, annoyance, and then... hatred. My darkness is what escalated the dream into what it was. What made yours escalate, Ira?"

At that question, Ira was deathly silent and showed no signs of speaking again for a while. He merely looked at Ava and started seeing the truth the way she was probably seeing it. That's what made it all so disturbing. The fact that his darkness wanted to ruin Ava's innocence and the fact that Ava's darkness wanted to ruin his nobility was a testament to the hidden desires the two seemed to share. Both want to destroy the other for whatever sinister reason. No longer wanting to hide anything from Ava now that the two seemed frustrated with each other, Ira decided to just be honest from here. There'd be no point in shielding someone who he thought for sure was an innocent flower from anything now.

"Your ability to seduce me," Ira said. "I don't remember having a dream about fucking you before, but the dream that I _did_ have of you was almost enough to undo me. What stopped me from just taking you as you were was the possibility that someone else touched you before that. I wasn't jealous of the other guy. I wasn't even mad. Part of me... wanted to take it back for you... I don't know... It was like if I wasn't your first then the sex wouldn't work."

"If I were your age..." Ava said after a silence passed between them, "would you have had that same dream?"

"... I don't know. I haven't thought about sex in years since I broke up with my girlfriend," Ira said in a low voice as if he were reliving a past he hoped to forget. "I never really wanted to touch another woman since then. I guess that's what really scares me."

Ava perked up at that and questioned, "You get scared about things?"

"Only recently," Ira answered, placing a Blizzard spell on his forgotten chocolate. He wondered if Odie would return to his side if he took too long. The argument seemed to be finished and was relegated to normal talk. Ira guessed it was safer for the Chirithy to call for him now. He then said, "I worry about the darkness spreading as the master said, and this lingering thought in the back of my mind fears what will happen if we fail to protect the light. Truth be told, I don't want to lose the life I left behind when I came here to become the master's apprentice with all of you. Then that means that she'll die. I didn't become the master's apprentice just because he chose me. I did all of this to protect her, even though I knew she was slowly slipping away from me. The more I got to know all of you, the more my reason for leaving felt right. I suppose learning the way of the keyblade created this sense of nobility in me. That's what you all seem to see. But, you know, I don't want to lose you all either. You helped me grow into something I never would've thought possible. I'm scared of losing everything to an entity I can't truly see."

"... Maybe you should visit her," Ava suggested with a sad smile, gaining Ira's attention. "It sounds like you never really broke up with her."

"She's with someone else now," Ira replied, making Ava gasp lightly. "There's no need."

"Oh..." Ava whispered. She took a moment to think about something to say but instead shook her head and walked closer to Ira. She took his hand into hers and gently kissed the callous on his fingers. Ira gasped lightly and briefly before exhaling softly and subconsciously rubbing Ava's bottom lip with his thumb. Ava finally spoke and asked, "Can you say that word again?"

"What word?" Ira questioned, feeling a strange urge to push one of his fingers a few centimeters into Ava's mouth. Not quite fully inside the cavern but just at the base of her lips where moist surface and dry surface meet. He didn't realize that his voice dropped a bit.

"That f word," Ava replied, blushing as she took his thumb to where he wanted to touch and sucked it a little.

The action made Ira's heart thump uncontrollably and he had to question Ava's sudden flirtatious reaction to the information. He asked, "Why?"

"Well..." Ava started, sucking more area on his thumb's knuckle and lightly kissing it. "I've never heard you use a dirty word before. It's attractive. And... I'm happy that you haven't touched anyone else or went back to see your ex. That means you took a celibate, re-virginal path when you became an apprentice."

Ira raised an eyebrow at this and lifted Ava's chin with his index finger, feeling the cool air pass over his moistened thumb. He then said, "You should be more careful around men like me. We might take your little flirting as an invitation to fuck you."

"... Ira... " Ava started, blushing profusely now and embracing Ira fully to feel the warmth of his body. "I want those dreams to be real... It doesn't have to be today, but... one day... if we're ever frustrated or angry or just in the mood... will you, um... be my first...?"

Shock, desire, agreement, trust. Any of those feelings or another related to what he listed in his mind was what he was experiencing right then. Ava wanted him to be her first lover? He wanted to say that he didn't understand, but she already admitted to having a crush on him and he admitted to himself earlier that he might have developed a small crush on her until he rejected the idea because of the age difference. Now, he was starting to consider the request. As in REALLY consider it. It was clear that underneath the cute girl was a seductive, sexual teen but he's yet to realize what unleashed this other side to her. It didn't feel like darkness at all. It was more like pure attraction and he reciprocated similar feelings. What was the master trying to do by feeding them these dreams? Wrapped up in more of his thoughts, Ira returned Ava's embrace and nodded in acceptance of the request.

He then said, "I'll be your first. We can start tonight."


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: *looks down in shame* I... *breathes deeply, shakes head* How do I even begin to make this disclaimer? How do I? How can one say - how can one even start this chapter by saying...? WARNING: This chapter contains some pretty graphic content between two people who consensually agreed that now is the time to relinquish... I don't know. Relinquish what? I don't own them and they're not real people. Who am I to say that they must relinquish their... livelihood? Whatever. I'm just saying you might need a minute to process this chapter.

* * *

"T-t-tonight?" Ava questioned, blushing brightly.

Ira looked down at Ava to nod calmly and removed his mask to show a very gentle look in his eyes. It wasn't hungry or seductive at all. There was a different kind of emotion coming from the man like he was ready to set a bird free from its cage. An odd metaphor the young Foreteller chose to use but the only metaphor that could describe the look in his eyes. There was really no other way to put it. Ava supposed the look in Ira's eyes was a sign that he was accepting her feelings for him despite the fact that he didn't truly know what this all meant for her. This was going to be her first time surrendering herself to another person. She had to make doubly sure that no one would know about this at all. Absolutely NO ONE could know about this. The dreams were one thing, but this... THIS was another beast altogether.

Ava took a deep breath, eased her blush, and whispered, "Okay. C-c-can I make a request?"

Ira remained silent for a moment in response, waiting for her to continue. When she struggled to ask the question, he then said, "What is it?"

"I..." Ava started, fiddling with the bag of soak beads. "Well, in my dream - "

"If we're going to do this, we can't repeat everything that happened in the dreams," Ira said, startling Ava but confusing her as well. "You had those dreams about me as though I were your husband, and that appealed to you because sex is something that is shared in a marriage bond. What you did with that version of me won't be the same in reality because we're not married and my face is visible. You said earlier that you couldn't see the man's face, only his body or mine to be precise. Even the most recent one you had of me will be different. It was a response to a secret I held. The dream I had of you was in response to what you supposedly wanted. However, you thought you wanted to just be friends. Having sex with me exceeds the expectations of a proper friendship. For this to work, you have to eliminate every preconceived vision you had of me."

Ava huffed at him, pulled Ira down to kiss him, and said angrily, "I imagined you as my husband because I liked you, not because that's the only way the sex would work! There isn't a science to it! Ira, I really do like you. I wanted to be your friend to get to know you. To know if you could be someone I'd like to marry some day. The same way I think you could be my first. I'm not a catalogue worth 400 _billion_ of pages of text and 2 pictures! I'm just me! Even if... I'm not pretty or smart enough to really be with you. I already know you're older and probably need an actual woman to please you or satisfy your needs. I'm not asking you to envision me as whatever you saw in your dream. I'm only asking that you consider getting to know me. Being friends was the easiest way to do that."

"I don't mind being your friend," Ira said, standing straight up to his full height. "But being your lover is different. You can satisfy my needs as my lover once you've learned them. We can develop a friendship over lunch whenever we have the time."

Ava yanked Ira down for another kiss again but kept a stern face and argued, "I already tried that!"

"Beg your pardon?" Ira questioned, remaining in place this time with slightly widened eyes.

"Two weeks ago, you jerk!" Ava said, kissing him again. "I asked you to join me at the coffee shop near the market and you said no. Oh, but when Invi asked you an hour later, you were all for it. Before even that, I asked if you wanted to get a sandwich with me and Gula. You said no to that, too. Oh, but Luxu? You ran to the sandwich place then. As a matter of fact, I asked if you wanted to get some ramen with me and the Master. Even then, you changed your mind! When Aced asked you to go for the EXACT, SAME THING later that night, you were all too excited to go then. What is it about me that you can't stand?"

Ira didn't speak after that for what felt like a long time. He was recalling every invitation Ava ever gave to him at the times she mentioned. She was right. She did ask him if he wanted to get some ramen with her. The master offered to go with them also. Why did he say no, though? That's what was bothering him. That was why he froze up. He was activating every part of his brain now. The ramen invitation was about a month and a half ago. He had just finished training with his keyblade, and he was near famished around then because it was lunchtime. Everyone wanted something different for lunch, so they decided to go their separate ways and reunite at the training grounds afterwards. Ava, at the time, wanted ramen and the master wanted some too. Ira then remembered something: he wanted some, too. Yeah, he did want the ramen. In fact, he did go with them but... he stopped. Why did he stop? Suddenly, it clicked. It wasn't the ramen that made him turn around, it was where the shop was located.

Ira then looked into Ava's eyes and remembered everything from that day. He, the master, and little Ava were walking to the ramen shop together. The master was, of course, wearing his black hood, but Ira and Ava were wearing white cloaks. They weren't like the robes they wore now, but they were more similar in design to the master's cloak. No masks at the time. As they were talking about training, Ira noticed that the ramen shop was in the quaint parts of Daybreak Town where a sort of village surrounded it. As Ava and the master walked on, Ira stopped to gasp at the familiar imagery and looked out into the housing district next to the shop. In the distance was the forest where he frequented to study the area, but the forest was also a special place for someone else that he met there. A young girl who taught him something important. That was when he changed his mind and decided to eat something else instead. He ordered a plate of eel and took it into the forest. When he reached his meditation spot, all he thought about was the girl who trained him. He never got her name or ever heard her voice.

Okay, that answers that question. What about the sandwiches? Ira thought about it for a moment and realized that the same problem occurred. The sandwich parlor was in the quaint part of Daybreak Town. Actually, the coffee shop was more of a precaution in case Ava was trying to sucker him near the village part again, but if it was by the market then his suspicions were wrong. He could've gone with her to the coffee shop. The one Invi goes to only serves two flavors of coffee: chocolate and French vanilla. Neither of which he enjoys drinking, so he opted for peppermint tea. Well, that answered the reason why he avoided Ava's invitations somewhat. Wait, somewhat? What else was missing?

When he felt Ava kiss him again, he could only whisper, "I'm sorry, Ava. I thought you were trying to bring me around the village again. That's why I didn't go to the coffee shop. I regret that now. The peppermint tea at the other place was terrible."

"Why don't you like the village?" Ava asked, petting Ira's cheek. She had a sad look in her eyes.

"It's a story I can't get into today," Ira said, kissing Ava sweetly as though he were promising to tell her the story one day.

When he looked into Ava's eyes, though, he saw something that drew him back in again. It was something his mind was trying to suppress, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He only felt himself deepening the kisses he was giving to Ava, and he felt Ava responding to them as though she was trying to remember something herself. For whatever reason, the sexual tension between kept rising the more they kissed. Some arguing from the two of them did come up in between kisses. Ava would bring up another time when Ira denied spending time with her, but Ira argued instead on how Ava could've just did most of the cooking herself. Ava would then ask how Ira knew about her cooking, and Ira would answer that she made everyone lunch quite a few times when no one felt like spending money after spending up so much energy to train with the master. Ava would also argue that Ira was quite the barista himself and could make his own coffee. Of course, Ira would ask how she knew about that and Ava would simply respond that he made iced coffee for her, Gula, and Luxu because the three hated pure coffee. Something about the taste never sat well with them. Amidst the arguing and kissing, Ava and Ira agreed to simply meet at the cliff overlooking Daybreak Town and have a private picnic.

When the kissing became far more passionate after finally agreeing to something, Ava then whimpered a bit, "Ira, I can't anymore."

Not bothering to pay attention, Ira dragged his kisses along Ava's neck and licked his way back up to ask, "You can't what?"

"Ira!" Ava whined, squirming around a bit. She kissed his lips for the final time before saying, "Stop trying to make me say embarrassing things!"

"You wanted me to say fuck earlier," Ira argued, raising an eyebrow. "I want to hear you say what you're feeling."

"But Ira - !" Ava moaned, squirming in place again.

"Say it or I'm going back to my room to let you squirm," Ira threatened, narrowing his eyes just enough to show he was serious.

"Fine!" Ava huffed, frustrated. "I can't wait anymore. I... I... need you..."

"As sexy as that normally would be for me, I'm gonna need something a little more convincing," Ira said with a purr in his voice. He then whispered directly in Ava's ear with a seductive growl, "What are you squirming around for?"

Ava licked her lips, which made Ira follow the motion with a peculiar glint in his eyes, and whispered, "I can't wait anymore. I have to have you. I want you, Ira."

"That's my girl," Ira purred, opening a portal of light to some unknown destination. He walked towards it and then turned to Ava to give a simple command, "Come with me."

* * *

Gula looked at the clock in Ava's room, seeing that it was a quarter passed 11, and wondered where his friend was at this hour. He knew she was training her wielders today to get her mind off Ira and focus on her role for the master, but he didn't think she'd need all day and all night. She'd have no energy for tomorrow which was in three-quarters of an hour. Luxu was walking passed the door with a book in his arms and a cup of tea in the other hand when he noticed that his leopard-masked friend was sitting at Ava's desk but Ava was nowhere to be found. He stopped midway in his stride, walked backwards, nodded at Gula's lazy wave, and looked at the clock. He scanned the room for a good couple of seconds, but it looked like Ava never came back after making her bed this morning. There weren't any groceries or restocked items in the kitchen, so she wasn't caught up in her shopping sprees. No light was in the bathroom so she wasn't taking a shower or brushing her hair or brushing her teeth. Where was his missing friend?

"I don't know where she is either," Gula responded, knowing what Luxu was thinking.

"She never came back after lunch?" Luxu asked, walking into the room.

"She barely ate her lunch," Gula answered, shrugging his shoulders. "She took a nap around then, remember? Long morning."

"Oh, that's right," Luxu replied, leaning on Ava's dresser. "She wouldn't still be training at this time of night, would she?"

"Depends on if she had another fuck dream," Gula said, taking off his mask to scratch in his head. "She's been having them more often lately. Don't know why, though."

"Well, all of us have, to be honest," Luxu said, blowing the steam away from his cup to sip on his tea. "It's probably just our biological clock ticking. Didn't you say had one a while back?"

"Yeah, I guess that's tr - oh wait!" Gula said, eyes widening slightly. "Dammit! I was supposed to catch up to Invi today."

"Why? What's up?" Luxu asked.

"We were supposed to take turns following Ira and Ava around," Gula replied, rubbing his temples with the base of his hands. "You know, after we spoke to Aced."

"Oh," Luxu said. "Well, Invi'll have a report soon enough. She's good like that."

"Yeah, I know. Maybe she's talking to Ava. That'd make the job easier," Gula grumbled.

* * *

"Aaaahhh..."

It was a good thing she begged Ira to go slow; otherwise, Ava would've been in pain for hours and Ira would be trying to heal her. As she watched Ira take his time exploring her body, Ava took her free hand and caressed Ira's torso until she reached his thickened member and let her fingers feel his patient thrusting. Her other hand was gripping the sheets underneath her. When Ira placed a sweet kiss on her lips and caged her in the length of his arms, she wrapped her legs around his tense thighs and moaned into his mouth as he continued with his slow strokes. She could feel him using his lower back to deliver each thrust and couldn't decide whether to keep her hands on his face or let them travel on their own across his back. Ira noticed that her hands seemed to like touching the dimples in his back and, if he gave into his more primal urges by pumping slightly harder or faster, they would travel directly to his ass to grip him. Of course, he had to control himself A LOT. While Ava expressed multiple times that he had to be gentle because he was her first, his instinct was telling him to go as far as she could handle it. This was mainly due to Ava's body accepting him so gingerly. He had to double think the warnings of her prior virginity because she was taking him like she wasn't a virgin ever.

He, however, ignored his instinct and merely experimented with how far Ava's beautiful body could take him. Unbelievably, she did have a limit but it was close to his primal instinct range. When he released her from his kiss and sped up his thrusts, Ava voiced the way it felt enough to make him lose his mind and speed up more but he kept it under control. As predicted, her hands went to his ass when he took it a little too far and she was starting to feel pain, so he went slow again and planted little kisses on her lips and cheeks. Feeling needy himself, he stopped pumping into her altogether and lifted himself to a pushup position.

He then whispered on Ava's lips, "Turn over for me."

"Um, a-a-are you..." Ava started, licking her lips and parting her legs to unwrap herself from around Ira. "A-are you going to do that mouth thing again?"

Ira's eyes gave off that peculiar glint again before he asked, "Do you want me to?"

She blushed brightly at the response but nodded. Ira kissed the corner of her mouth, whispered an okay, and grabbed her left ankle to spin her around. The motion was gentle but it both startled and excited Ava who moaned and squirmed under Ira's grasp. He kissed her cheek twice while spreading her legs apart a bit more by the thighs, and then traveled his way to her shoulder blades when his hands caressed her ass and then slightly held her hips in place. Ava wanted to watch him kiss her entrance like he did before, but she could only see so much. That was until she noticed Ira looking back at her with a hungry look in his eyes. It was hungrier than her dreams and looked like he was challenging her to something. Before he dragged his kisses lower, he stayed in his position right above the dip in her lower back and moved her hair away from her face. The glint in his eyes for whatever reason had gotten sexier to Ava. Before she knew it, he was poking his warm, wet tongue into her entrance and she was watching him do it. It looked like he wanted her to watch because he kept his eyes trained on her. She wanted to keep their eyes locked on each other because Ira seemed to like that and his thrusting was becoming more intense but she couldn't hold it. Right around then is when Ira lightly pulled his tongue out, bit her thigh twice, and pinched her ass. She moaned at that, finding the punishment more erotic than painful and felt the urge to touch her clit. Ira watched her do it for about three seconds before he pulled the hand she was using to touch herself to his side, used his free hand to position himself at her entrance, and took her free hand away from her body to bring it to his side.

Ava voiced the pleasure from the thrust in this new position louder than before. She could confidently say that Ira hid an entirely different person underneath his noble, reliable persona. His thrusts were different from before, too. It seemed faster but it didn't hurt like earlier. When he decided to experiment with her and hit her nerves a little harder, that's when she tried to squirm out of his hold and run from the pain. When she did that, though, he stopped, kissed her cheek and neck, and returned to a gentler, slower pace. They both seemed to be testing each other. Ava would keep her back arched per Ira's desire but turn to watch him thrust into her if she could. If she so much as dared to try and touch herself, Ira would take that as a reason to punish her and hold her arms at his side to thrust either harder or faster. She found she liked either way but not when he was starting to go overboard. She took it as him trying to hold back the darker Ira. While she wanted to see what that Ira looked like, her body couldn't handle that much of him yet.

"You have a gorgeous voice, you know," Ira complimented in Ava's ear when he slowed pace.

Ava licked her lips, turned to kiss him, and said, "Thank you."

"What, no compliment?" Ira joked.

"You're a gorgeous man. Everything about you is beautiful," Ava said sweetly.

"Thank you," Ira whispered, chuckling a little.

* * *

Invi was obviously tired with it being half passed midnight and all, but she at least could tell Gula that Ira and Ava seemed to be taking the time to talk things out. She just missed them when they entered a Corridor of Light to some unknown place. Maybe the two were frustrated enough with the dreams to finally confront each other. Ira was usually reasonable so surely he handled everything well. When she passed by Ava's room, she noticed Luxu and Gula with worried expressions as they looked at the clock one more time.

"I don't know, man. Ava's been gone a while now," Gula said, rising to his feet. "It's almost 1 in the morning."

"What's going on?" Invi asked, walking into Ava's room. She spotted a brown teddy bear with a bright yellow bow around its neck on the floor and picked it up to cuddle it. She then asked, "Ava's still out?"

"You saw her earlier?" Luxu asked, pouring himself another cup of tea. He had time to get the pot, return to Ava's room, and wait with Gula some more before he grew concerned. "Where?"

"She was talking to Ira. Given the circumstances between them, I figured they wanted to talk without having one of us interrupt them," Invi explained. "We have been making their situation slightly worse by all our questioning. They need to sort things out on their own. Keeping a watchful eye won't hurt but it could make them suspicious of each other."

"I guess that makes sense," Gula said. "Did you learn anything new?"

"It seems like Ava has been upset by Ira many times," Invi said, surprising Luxu and Gula. "She told me earlier today after we separated that she tried to befriend Ira before, but he kept refusing to go with her even when one of us was nearby or accompanying her. She even gave me several examples. But... I recalled something Ira said to me a while back. He mentioned that Ava sometimes scared him. I asked why, and he said it was something about a perfume she wore one day. It was familiar to him like something he was trying to forget from his past. I didn't quite understand it at the time, but I think maybe Ava might be linked to someone in his past. Maybe Ava knew his ex-girlfriend and wore her perfume or something."

"Wait, Ira had a girlfriend?" Luxu asked.

"Wait, he didn't tell you that he met Ava before she became the master's apprentice?" Gula questioned, ignoring Luxu's question and shocking Invi. "She taught him magic defense while he taught her magic. Luxu was learning magic spells himself at the time."

"Oh, that's right!" Luxu said, snapping his fingers. "The master was teaching me more advanced spells like Firaja, but I kept messing up at the basics so I had to practice Fira a bunch of times. Ava took to magic like a fish in water and learned stuff like Curaga within a few days, so he kept an eye on her and let her meet Ira. Ira's main attribute might be power but he's devastating with magic. It seemed like a good way to balance the two out. Ira must've forgot about Ava if that's the case. They weren't around each other long."

"I don't think forgot about Ava. I think he was trying to suppress the memories he had of her," Invi reasoned, putting a finger under her chin. "But why? If they weren't around each for that long and he was training with Ava, what would be the purpose in trying to forget about her?"

Everyone grew silent in thought until Luxu realized something and gasped loudly. He then said aloud, "No way!"

Gula hummed in thought until it hit him. He then said, "Wait, wait, wait! No. You're not thinking that right now. NO!"

"What is it?" Invi questioned, not understanding the two boys.

"No way is a grown-ass man attracted to my best friend like THAT!" Gula shouted, running out of the door to check Ira's room to see if he was there.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: *breathes deeply* Know what? I got nothin'. You were waiting for the "fun" stuff, I wrote the "fun" stuff. I went a little overboard with the "fun" stuff, in my opinion. Even though the "fun" stuff was short. Yet here we are about to try to describe the "fun" stuff. Warning: this chapter contains probably the most unnecessary form of "fun" in the history of "fun" stuff. So here's your "fun" stuff as promised. I hate myself now.

* * *

Poor Ava was in a daze all morning. She couldn't focus on anything remotely noteworthy, not even her breakfast. Of course, this was all Ira's fault... again. She could've happily waited another day when she wasn't tired to have her first sex but Ira didn't care. Oh no, Ira "could give two fucks" as he would so delicately put it if he were watching his younger lover absentmindedly burning her toast and eggs. That was all part of the plan, no doubt. Oh yeah, that was totally part of the WHOLE plan. Bringing her to an unoccupied, romantic riverboat to gently coax her into taking her clothes off in the cabin was just his adult way of being a pervert. Yeah, she's thinking it! Her lover was definitely a romantic pervert. Who brings their lovers out in the middle of the sea to kiss their body with those... seductive, thick lips? Closet perverts, that's who!

The young Foreteller was flushed in the face as she remembered Ira using his lower back with those delicious dimples on that muscled, gorgeous plane to pump into her in smooth thrusts until she called out his name, holding her in place with those callous, rough hands, and staring into her soul with those gentle, loving eyes. He totally did that on purpose. He KNEW she wasn't ready for him to use his tough, strong arm to hold her at the waist and drive himself straight into her most sensitive spot. From the looks of the caramelized skin on her eggs, it looked like Ava wasn't ready for breakfast either. Not if she was thinking about Ira and their first night together like this. Her poor Chirithy was just watching her pile garbage on the burnt two by fours Ava was calling toast. The young Foreteller even let her tea burn. How the hell does tea even burn? That makes no logical sense! Yet, Ava let it happen. To top it all off, she was boiling grape jelly in a small pot to make a syrup of some sort but she couldn't truly think of why. She didn't have biscuits in the oven. Oh yeah! She was frying her biscuits and baking her bacon. See how this is Ira's fault?

Ava had half a hope that the first sex would be horrible. That way she could get her desires out of the way, actually focus on what the master has been saying this entire time, and just stop thinking about Ira in any romantic way altogether. She overheard how some girls regret giving up their virginity because of the pain and was scared about that, especially with Ira being an older man. Then again, she desperately wanted her first time to be pleasurable like in her dreams so she wouldn't have to regret anything. It would've been nice to know that her first lover was skilled enough to erase the notion of pain and blow her dreams out of the water like an unfortunate fish swimming passed a dormant geyser that suddenly just became active out of nowhere. What even are metaphors really? Thank Kingdom Hearts, no one was awake yet or in the tower whatsoever. She did wake up pretty late.

She couldn't remember what happened after her last orgasm. She just remembered Ira commanding her to sleep and a spell being put on her before everything went black. She did have a nice dream about Ira, though, and now she knew what making love to him was like so it was okay to dream of it. When she woke up, her Chirithy was sleeping next to her in her bed. She thought maybe she had another wet dream but her skin and lower regions tingled as though Ira was still touching her. Ever since then, she'd been blushing and replaying her first sex over and over again... NO! Just eat the stupid breakfast and FOCUS! Was someone touching her?

Ava wasn't paying attention until she felt dangerously familiar fingers on her neck and a familiar pair of cold lips kissing the base of her neck. The very same lips that travelled upwards and licked up to her earlobe before kissing the outer shell of her ear. She sighed and lightly moaned at the motion but got stuck in an even heavier daze than before. Her Chirithy took that time to leave with Odie on an adventure in the gardens downstairs. Poor Odie was as clueless about the exchange as the other Foretellers.

* * *

 _ **Earlier that morning...**_

When Ira returned to the tower with Ava in his arms, he wondered if bringing her to his room would be selfish of him. Personally, he wanted to keep Ava close because he kind of wanted to continue from the night's events if possible. While she was still young, Ava had potential to control him using either seduction or sex as her main weapon and he found he didn't mind that at all. Yet, in the back of his mind, something kept eating away at Ira. After Ava mentioned all the times he invited him to lunch, he went back to yesterday afternoon when she found him in the forest. Finally, he realized something odd about that: she mentioned that the Master told her where Ira was but she never said that the Master guided her there. Even when she left, she knew her back well enough to not need directions from Ira. Another thing that gnawed at Ira's brain was when she asked why he didn't want to go near the quaint parts of Daybreak Town.

 _Are you...?_ Ira thought, looking down at Ava's sleeping face. _From there...?_

"Always thinking..." Ava whispered, smiling and blushing. "Silly squirrel..."

Ira smiled and shook his head to stop from laughing and disturbing the girl. When he looked up after finally crossing the bridge, Aced was standing there with a grumpy look on his face and his arms folded across his chest. Of course, Aced had a reason to be moody after being woken up in the middle of the night by Invi to help Gula find Ira. He, being the sleepy one, questioned why Gula was trying to find Ira. Invi delicately and hesitantly explained that Gula had suspicions that Ira might've taken Ava's crush too seriously and took advantage of her. Neither of the two were in the tower and it was approaching 2 o'clock. Aced shot up like fire was underneath him and went on a manhunt to stop everything. When neither he, Gula, Luxu or Invi could find them anywhere nearby, they really started to panic until the Master was disturbed from his own slumber and calmed everyone down. He instructed them to wait but told Aced to wait at the tower's front gate. That's where Aced was now and that's where Ira stopped when he noticed a frustrated look in his friend's eyes. Well, may as well begin the plan...

"Dare I begin to ask why you were out this late at night with the girl?" Aced questioned.

"You... can?" Ira responded.

"What did you do to her?" Aced asked, sighing. "What part of self-control didn't you get, Ira?"

"Huh?" Ira squawked, shaking his head. "No! What are you thinking of right now?"

"Spare me the bullshit!" Aced argued, narrowing his eyes. "It's almost 3 in the morning and we've been trying to find you for almost a solid 2 hours! We couldn't even sense you!"

"We were in another world, you fool!" Ira argued, blushing profusely at the accusation Aced was totally right in accusing him of because oh boy! He then said, "Ava was just coming home at almost midnight after training her wielders. She was exhausted! She wanted to talk about the dreams, so we left just in case you meddlers decided to pop up on us before we could settle things. In the middle of our talk, she fell asleep. I was in no rush to do anything, so I let her rest herself. What is wrong with you?"

Aced looked at Ira long and hard. There seemed to be some truth to what Ira was saying. Invi did say that the two walked through a Corridor of Light right before she could walk up to them, and Gula mentioned that he and Invi agreed to follow the two around because of what Aced told them earlier. The Master's also been experimenting with the Chirithy, so he's been popping up on them ever since Ava told Aced about her dreams. Ira probably thought of leaving because everyone was following them. If Ava so much as tried to confess to Ira, someone would make things worse somehow. It was bad enough as it was. Satisfied with the explanation and Ava's fatigued appearance, Aced nodded and placed a Cure spell on the sleeping girl to help her healing process. While he wasn't an expert healer, he could hold his own with basic spells.

Aced sighed, resigning to accept Ira's words so he could sleep, and said, "Ira... Just promise me something... Don't hurt her..."

Ira tilted his head and whispered, "Hm? What do you mean?"

Aced shook his head and looked at Ira with a genuine sense of concern and fear. He was essentially telling Ira to be serious at this moment. Ira gasped at the look because he rarely ever saw Aced in a vulnerable state but he kept quiet and let his friend continue. Aced said, "You don't know how close she is to Gula and Luxu. They grew up together as orphans and clawed for whatever they could to survive. It's something I respect, even though I was just too proud to listen to my parents. I left my home at about their age and fought for my survival up until the Master found me. They didn't have a choice but to fight to live. What I respect the most is that they never stole food or money. They always did something to earn it, and they always used their instincts to guide them. They had each other. Ava isn't just a friend to them. She's a mother, sister, and a guardian all at once. What I don't want... What I fear the most... is that you or maybe even her might use the truth of these dreams - if you ever figure out what it all means - to hurt each other. That hurt will lead you into a darkness no one will be able to save you from, least of all us. Think of that for me, or at least for her sake."

* * *

With those words, Ira began to doubt that he could continue the sex with Ava and he found he couldn't sleep. His Ava was an orphan? After following Aced and telling him the bits that Ava confessed to him like her invites and such, he placed the girl down onto her bed and explained to the others exactly what he explained to Aced. Honestly, he wanted to tell them the truth but he found he simply couldn't. Instead, he relegated himself to saying that he and Ava admitting that the dreams were concerning but Ava fell asleep before they could truly understand the meaning behind the dreams. He was so shaken up by Aced's words and essentially lying to him that he could only lay in his bed to think. He did the unthinkable last night. That much he couldn't take back.

As he watched Ava cooking inattentively, he wondered what he should say to her. Truthfully, Ira liked the idea of keeping the sex between him and Ava a secret. It excited him. He liked the way she responded to his touches and liked the way she moaned and even liked the way she wanted to return his actions with as equal fervor. He couldn't get Aced's words out of his head, though. She was important among their seven lights. They couldn't continue with the secrecy. They couldn't touch each other anymore. This crush, these dreams, and this relationship had to end. Hence the reason for him quietly returning to the tower after about fifteen minutes of patrolling the streets of Daybreak Town to check on Ava's state. For whatever reason, the situation the two were wrapped in angered him. A small part in the back of his mind loathed the idea of Ava giving her attentions to another male, and another small part of him wanted to defy everyone's warnings and keep the charade up. So, he decided to test her the way he did last night. The kiss was the first question of a multiple-choice quiz.

Ira used one hand to guide Ava's lips to meld into his and deepened the kiss enough to make Ava caress his face and follow him to some predestined place of his choice. It was his room apparently. He quickly sensed to make sure no one else was around and locked the door behind them. Ava waited for those few anxious seconds to see what Ira would do next, and the man took his time removing his and mask before sitting on the edge of his bed and sighing. Ava was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the change in mood and atmosphere. Her heart was beating nervously and she was worried about Ira's silence up until he spoke.

"You seem to be a lot less focused than before," Ira started, looking into the red eyes of his mask. "I'm no better either."

"You've been on my mind a lot more lately," Ava replied, fiddling with her fingers. "Is that bad?"

"I don't know," Ira admitted quietly. "Frankly, I'm worried as all fuck."

"About what?" Ava asked, trying to look into Ira's face. He looked more sad than worried.

"You," Ira answered, stroking the blue mane of his mask. "I worry that... what we're doing... what you asked of me... is wrong. Ava, you're an important part of our seven lights. I don't want these dreams or these actions to change you. The others love you probably more than they're willing to admit."

"But you don't?" Ava interrupted, anger laced in her voice. It made Ira look up but not in surprise. He kept the same questions and emotions in his eyes and face. It was almost as if he expected the response and his heart was clenching in anticipation of some form of lashing out. Ava then almost demanded, "Is that what you're trying to tell me? That you don't see me as important as they do?"

"No," Ira responded, shaking his head and returning his attention to the mask. "I've always seen you as important but that's because I've only known you as Ava, one of the Master's youngest apprentices. Aced was right. I don't know anything about you. I'm taking that into consideration along with everyone's concern for you. If I were just leaving the tower to screw a complete stranger, no one would probably care as long as I focused on my role first and foremost and had my sex life on my own time. I probably would've been encouraged to do that if it'd stop me from thinking all the time. But I didn't do a stranger last night. I slept with you. You're such a valu - "

Without a single word or even a single noise, Ava pulled Ira's face up to kiss him. When Ira felt Ava straddling him, he grabbed her arms and pushed her back to look into her eyes and search for an answer. She then whispered, "I hate you. I tried to get to know you already. We went through this. We even agreed to lunch last night so that we could get to know each other properly! That's how we wound up in bed together! So you're gonna take that back just because everyone's concerned about a crush they didn't know about until... what? Like yesterday?"

"I'm not taking it back because of that!" Ira snapped, gripping her tightly. "I'm taking it back because I don't want to hurt you!"

"And you think this is helping?" Ava questioned.

"We're fucking close to being 10 years apart in age! This isn't right, even if we weren't Foretellers! I'm trying to get you to see some sense!" Ira argued. "I gave you what you wanted - !"

"Ira, you never did!" Ava screamed, tearing up. "What you promised me last night was what I wanted! You're trying to take that back just because the others scared you in a corner! You're a coward!"

"What I am is your leader and a rational one! What you're doing can bring consequences that could destroy us!" Ira barked, tightening his grip on Ava's arms.

"I didn't sleep with you to destroy the group! I slept with you because I loved you!" Ava shouted, immediately covering her mouth afterwards.

Shock was eminent on both of their faces from the climax of the screaming match. Ira slowly loosened his grip on Ava while the girl closed her eyes and began shaking. The man took her hand away and asked, "But, Ava, why?"

"That's not the right question, Ira," Ava replied, looking down. She kissed his lips again then said, "The question you haven't been asking yourself is why you want to touch me. Is it really just because you haven't done it in a while? You're so consumed with thought that - "

Ava suddenly felt herself being tossed onto her back in a professional, swift movement and a hungry kiss soon followed. She wasn't sure why everyone was badgering Ira about her fantasies about him. Ira wasn't a bad man, and he treated her and her body very well. Since it was obvious that her comrades couldn't be trusted with the news of their growing relationship, she decided that keeping everything they do a secret is best. She fully surrendered to Ira's kiss but broke it to take Ira's hand and lead him away to a Corridor of Light.

* * *

She chose an abandoned home in Agrabah for their second sex. It wasn't a poorly-built place either. It was actually more like a temple belonging to priests who no longer worshipped pagan gods. She didn't waste any time admiring the scenery the way Ira probably would have. She was far too focused on getting the man naked and ready for her. Judging by how expertly he yanked her clothes off to reveal her body, the feeling of his clothed manhood pressing into her was enough to suggest he was waiting on the next time the two would be alone. Unfortunately, they had to go through a dramatic chain of events. When Ira finally took his pants off and moved his hair to the side, Ava licked her lips before kissing him and moaned when he stretched her legs out to where the angle stressed her hips. She was especially for him after feeling herself dripping and contracting, but there was something she wanted to do before he moved on. He denied her permission to do it last night.

"Um, Ira?" she asked with a breathy moan. The man merely kissed her in response as a form of acknowledgement. She then continued, "I want it... in my mouth first."

The look in Ira's eyes was almost heart-stopping. It was unreadable but still sexy to her. Like he was stuck between deciding on whether he should rip her apart, which she was scared she would enjoy immensely given the previous night, or refuse her again and instead cater to her as he had done before. He didn't have that same look before when she asked if she could touch him, which is probably why she found it sexy, and he seemed more accepting of the option.

"Why so eager to blow me?" Ira asked, releasing her legs so her hips were less tense and more relaxed. He settled into a lax, sort of push-up position.

Ava was surprised by the question but turned on by Ira's use of foul language. She wasn't sure why she liked when he used dirty words, but it made him seem like a street-wise prince in a way. His abs were distracting her from making a proper metaphor. It didn't help ease her attraction towards him when his eyes watched her hands caress his body. He remained still as she did so, waiting for her response to his question more than what she was about to do with her hands.

"I don't know," Ava answered honestly. "I guess since you put your mouth... on me, I just wanted to do the same for you. I liked when you did it. I figured - "

"I'll teach you," Ira interrupted with a stronger look in his eyes than before. It was that same unreadable look that Ava found attractive before, but the intensity of it this time made her feel a bit more needy. She licked her lips, nodded, and tried to reach for the band of his underwear but he moved away and whispered in her ear. In a darkened voice, he said, "But you're not ready yet. When you can handle all of me, I'll teach you exactly what you need to know to control me."

The vibrations from the growl in his voice resonated throughout her entire body, making her squirm and claw at Ira's shoulder blades. Having heard enough, she voiced out, "You're the worst kind of tease ever, Ira."

"Is that so?" Ira asked in the same seductive voice, spreading Ava's thighs apart. "I guess I'll have to remedy that... without using my lips."

Finally, Ava let out her stifled moan as Ira entered her fully. The feeling was definitely different than last night, meaning Ira didn't use his full length to please her. She found she didn't mind at all. He did go slow at first to get her used to his pacing, but he was gripping at her hips and the sheets a lot tighter than before. So was she admittedly. As much as she enjoyed just feeling every inch of him, she needed a more exotic pace to match the scenery. They were secret lovers, after all. She whimpered for Ira to pick up his pace to which he happily obliged. To her, it felt like he was using the very last pace they climaxed with from last night to start this new sex. For all intents and purposes, she was perfectly satisfied with that and voiced her opinion on the matter accordingly. Which is what brings her to her initial thought from earlier that morning. While Ira is still a definite tease, he was beyond an exceptional lover and it was terribly distracting.

Ira found it difficult to keep his self-control but it was mainly because he was slightly angry. Instead of showing it, he decided to spite everyone's love for Ava and explore her body in a way that would drive even himself crazy. With the approval of going at a faster pace, Ira swerved his hips in a circular motion when Ava gripped at his ass from the pain of getting close to his overboard phase. That's when something clicked. Ava's eyes rolled in the back of her head as she tossed it back, and Ira was able to indulge into his more primal urges. He continued hitting her sensitive spot at a faster, harder pace but added the swerving motion to keep it consistent.

"Take a deep breath, babe," Ira commanded.

Ava was about to question him until Ira picked her up by her lower back and licked his middle finger to touch her clit. She belted out, "Ira! Hun, what are you doing?"

"Whatever I fucking want with you," Ira growled, using one of his hands to grab Ava's ankle and the other to hold her up to where her shoulder blades were pressed into the bedding.

As if sensing that he was going to go at a faster pace than earlier, Ava started writhing from their new position and adjusted herself so she would be able to take him. If Ira wants to roughly show everyone that she was his, then she'd let him have his way. And she did. It was astounding. He hit her sensitive place over and over again until she was starting to scream.

"Unh! Say what you just said again," Ava requested, grabbing Ira's shaft to feel him thrusting inside her. As difficult as it was for her to do that, she just liked touching him that way for some reason. It felt natural to her.

Ira released her ankle, swerved around to calm her noise, and asked, "Will you tell me that you love me again?"

"Yes," Ava replied. Ira sucked in a breath, thrust into her hard to make her repeat, "Yes! Yes!"

"Good because I could give a fuck how much the others like you. I want to keep fucking you like this. I'll be the sick son of a bitch they keep making me out to be if that's what they want," Ira said, changing his pace from hard to simply fast. "Tell me those three words I want to hear, Ava."

"Anh! I love you, Ira! I want you like this!"

Without another word, it went on like that for a legitimately longer time. Finally, a moment of privacy and passion could pass between the two. At least that's what they thought until the Master of Masters noticed that Odie and Ava's Chirithy, Tiger, were collecting flowers together. He watched very intently until Tiger kissed Odie's cheek and blushed when Odie passed out from happiness.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: *rubbing eyes* What am I doing with my life? Well, guys, we're hitting our first time skip into Ava and Ira's secret relationship. The story catches glimpses into it when they're together in private. Some scenes will pour into the movie, and the Master of Masters will still be around for this chapter but not after that. This is just a heads up. Although, I might change my mind about future chapters because I'm sort of making this up as I go along, which isn't my usual for creating fiction stories, and I like the bit with the Master of Masters. He's kind of fun to write. Anyways, no sexual content will be in this chapter, but it'll be more into the relationship and how the Master of Masters sort of deals with it.

* * *

"Well, kids, grand dad's off to his room now," the Master of Masters sang.

As odd as the scene was, Ava found she couldn't really say anything. She just sat quietly on Ira's bed with said Foreteller shaking his head and returning to his novel of choice for the night. The Master of Masters was hugging Odie and Tiger in a fatherly manner before placing the two down to play. Unfortunately, after Ira and Ava had their first picnic as an official, secret couple together, the Master blew their whole cover by barging in on their alone time. When he asked if the two were on a date and found that neither Foreteller could answer him without blushing or trying to change the subject, he figured everything out from the dream to the reactions to the hidden desires to the actual "bow chicka wow wow" to the presumed date. He promised to keep it a secret since the two had troubling opinions about their comrades' involvement in their relationship. So far, the Master's done really well with the secret. He treated everything like he never heard about it and instead explained to the others that everything was his experiment to see if the two would be less distracted by the dreams if they just interacted with each other more. Aced and Luxu approved, but Invi and Gula were suspicious. Unfortunately, they were rightfully so because Ava and Ira upgraded their relationship to something intensely physical.

"Aw, but we want to play another game, Master Grand Dad," Odie whined, wiggling his nose. Tiger lightly touched his nose to make him blush and snuggled into the Master's neck. Odie then said, "Just a few more minutes."

"Oh, I know," the Master of Masters said, whining a little himself. "But I'm sleepy. We'll play again tomorrow if your parents aren't too... busy?"

"Master..." Ira warned, blushing lightly.

"What? I was subtle!" the Master said, placing the Chirithy down and petting their heads before waving a hand behind him to leave.

When he finally shut the door, Ava laid on her stomach and watched the Chirithy play with a ball. She said, "Ira?"

"Hm?"

"Why'd you want me to sleep in your room this time? Won't the others know I'm in here?"

It was a simple question. Ira discovered after the three weeks of dating Ava that she never truly asked complicated questions, but she was capable of making very in-depth observations. Odie and Tiger decided to play hide and seek before bed so Ava would be occupied with watching them while Ira read a novel quietly.

"Well, the Master agreed to tell them it's his experiment," Ira replied. "I wouldn't worry about it."

"I guess so," Ava responded, lifting her feet so her toes were pointed at an angle.

From there, the night returned to its usual order. Every now and then she'd correct the two Chirithy on the rules of the game or tell Ira that she knows he's staring at her ass too hungrily. He'd chuckle at her and either return to his novel or correct her on the method she chose to explain the rules of the small game. About a week or so before they started sneakily sleeping in each other's rooms, he noticed that Tiger seemed to develop a crush on Odie much like her master, but Odie was clueless about the subtle hints of flirting because he genuinely didn't understand love yet. He only knew friendship, happiness and sadness. Tiger would sometimes give Odie some of her sweets that Ava would make for her if they were around or touch Odie on the nose whenever he collected a new flower for Ira to study. The gesture made him blush. Sometimes, though not often, Tiger would kiss Odie's cheek if he gave her a gift in return for her kindness. Poor Odie always fainted from the gesture and poor Tiger would forget about that and proclaim that she killed him with kindness or love. While this had nothing to do with Ava's question, it did tear him away from his book and made him look at his girlfriend while she was stretching like a big cat. Ira also discovered after the three weeks of dating Ava that she liked to stretch completely out and then raise her butt up using her knees to get the dip in her back to crack. This exact stretch made him watch her cute, little panties dig into her lady parts and it also made him slightly uncomfortable in the lower regions of his body. Her lingerie of choice for the night was a fur-trimmed top and satin panties. Of course, she had matching furry slippers.

"You're staring again," Ava said after yawning and returning to her resting position.

"Is there a particular reason why you're wearing flashy lingerie?" Ira asked as a counter-question.

"You're wearing your green, linen pajamas," Ava answered simply, not taking her eyes off the Chirithy. "It was in my dream about you so I thought I'd wear what I wore."

"You find the most common item in my evening wear _that_ attractive?" Ira questioned, purposely staring at Ava lustfully. Well, she wasn't looking at him anyway.

"Still staring, Master Ira," Ava said seductively, turning to give Ira a favored look from her eyes. Within the three weeks of the two dating, Ava learned that her intelligent lover adored a half-lidded gaze that made her eye color sparkle and pupils dilate. It was an instant turn-on for him and matched that peculiar glint in his eyes whenever she asked him to give in to his primal urges during their love-making. She then continued with the same softened voice, "Your common linens flatter your body type. You wouldn't last five minutes in the streets with that on."

Ira's eyes narrowed to show that peculiar glint in his eyes and he said with a growl, "You wouldn't last five seconds."

"With you on the streets or around other men in general, my darling?" Ava questioned, returning her attention to the Chirithy. She could feel his gaze intensifying once she turned around and felt herself being aroused by his attentions. Strictly to tease him, Ava sneakily caressed her arms and started squirming a bit when she felt some discharge leaking out.

"You touch yourself anymore and I'll make sure it hurts the next time we're alone... my little love," Ira hissed, satisfied when Ava stopped and turned to him with an innocent look of desire in her eyes. She smiled at him with a challenging glint in her eyes as though she were daring him to do it, and he accepted the challenge with the lingering discomfort of an almost fully-grown erection in his pants and his gaze returning to a normal state.

"We are alone, my darling," Ava reminded him with a purr.

"Well, we can't have sex tonight. You already said yourself that the others were in here," Ira said, returning to his novel to avoid the lingering temptation of ripping her clothes off. "Besides, the master won't be able to cover this up forever."

"The master was the _first_ and the _only_ one to find out about us. You should tell that to Invi," Ava argued, waving her legs back and forth. "I don't think she's convinced that this is an experiment yet."

"Invi and Aced always visit my room on Tuesdays," Ira replied, turning a page in his novel. "I told you to wear something cute anyways, not your lingerie. They're only suspicious 'cause you wore a thong."

"I thought we agreed that it wasn't that revealing!" Ava argued, snapping around to puff her cheeks angrily.

"Don't give me that face," Ira said nonchalantly, turning another page. "And I said it wasn't as revealing as some of the lingerie _I've_ seen. I didn't say it wasn't revealing. Aced had similar feelings. Invi was the one who thought it too provocative, and she was absolutely right. You said so yourself that you couldn't walk for a few hours."

"I couldn't walk _briskly_ for a few hours because someone decided to play rough!" Ava argued.

"I couldn't look at wildlife for a few hours," Ira argued, reaching for a highlighter on his nightstand to make a mental note. "Those squirrels were upset at me."

"Master Ava, can we make squirrel feeders again? They ate all mine," Tiger shyly asked, pausing the game for a second.

"Of course, we can, Tiger Lily," Ava said, nuzzling her Chirithy's nose to make her blush and smile.

"How come the squirrels steal mine all the time, Master Ava?" Odie asked, hopping onto Ira's bed.

"Those are mother squirrels, little Odie," Ava answered, scratching behind Odie's ear. "They take them so they can feed their children."

"Does that make me their father?" Odie asked, making Ira chuckle and then laugh.

"No, it just makes you helpful to them," Ira replied, looking at Odie. "Instead of leaving her children behind, the mother can store food away safely so they can eat in peace."

"Oh, okay, Master Ira!" Odie responded, smiling. Tiger pounced on him and they both giggled playfully before hopping down from the bed to play hide and seek again. "I'm gonna get you this time!"

"Our children are getting more resourceful by the day," Ira complimented, making Ava giggle and blush. "Too bad your pajama vendor is so terrible."

"You should be thanking her. The way you've been staring at me the whole time, I'm surprised I'm wearing anything at all," Ava commented, giggling at Tiger catching Odie.

"How come you always hide by the teddy bears?" Odie asked, growling at Tiger.

Tiger giggled, tickling Odie, and said, "You never think to look there. It's an easy win."

"Isn't today Wednesday?" Ava asked. "That means you visit Invi or Aced tonight, right?"

"Today is Invi's day, but I've no reason to visit her this time. We normally talk about books," Ira said.

"Oh, you started a book club together?" Ava asked, turning around to lay on her side.

"I can stop it if it means I get to touch you," Ira replied, giving Ava a brief, hungry look before returning to his novel. "You should be careful with your lingerie. I might get some ideas."

Ava blushed at this before puffing her cheeks out. Within the three weeks of dating Ira, she had come to realize something very dangerous about him: he thinks about everything. Not just complex things, mind you. He thinks about different things like a set of lingerie he wanted her to wear because he thought it was adorable. The lingerie wasn't adorable. Okay, that's a lie. It was cute beyond measure! He bought her a polka dot bra and panty set that had a sheer corset. It came with little fuzzy slippers that she loved greatly. The problem with the lingerie was she was so excited that Ira gifted with it that she kissed him and pounced on him. While that might not sound like a bad thing to the average Joe, the response made Ira get too frisky and the night ended with a bent bed leg that he had to try to explain to Aced. That was one of many close calls the two had to figure out how to maneuver around. Unfortunately, that particular close call was enjoyable and made Ava crawl towards Ira. She pulled his book down as he was getting interested in the philosophy behind the words and straddled him to give him a challenging gaze. Ira discovered that his girlfriend straddled him whenever she was trying to get her point across, but she rarely ever took away his reading material unless she wanted something. Unfortunately, they had to slow down on the physicalities of their relationship because Gula had been watching them intensely for some time after their second sex. However, his cutie of a girlfriend was tempting him as he matched her gaze with a different intensity.

"You should be careful, too," Ava whispered before gently kissing Ira's lips and lingering a hair's distance away from them. "I'll want it if I look at you too long. That get-up is torturous."

"My attire is normal," Ira responded, kissing Ava's lips about three or four times before leaning against the headboard. "I expected more than half your attire to be more reserved."

"Oh," Ava said as if she remembered something. It looked important since she dropped her seductive act to really think about whatever it was that crossed her mind. She then continued, "You weren't living with us so you wouldn't know."

"Know what?" Ira probed, raising an eyebrow.

"I slept naked growing up most of the time," Ava replied, smiling brightly. She chuckled at herself for having forgotten that fact and said, "I totally forgot about that."

Within less than a fraction of a second, Ira flipped Ava onto her back and ground out, "What?"

"Ira, you - !" Ava blushed, feeling Ira's manhood practically aching to feel her.

"I what?" Ira interrupted, giving Ava a mischievous smirk. That peculiar glint in his eyes began to glimmer.

"You said we couldn't do it tonight!" Ava argued, trying to squirm away from Ira but secretly wanting to tempt the man some more.

"Then why are you trying to seduce me, baby?" Ira questioned, whispering in Ava's ear to almost a purring noise.

"You're the worst kind of tease, Ira," Ava moaned, grinding up to feel Ira's length. "You know what this outfit does to me!"

"Our children are in the room, baby," Ira said in a sing-song manner, kissing Ava teasingly. He merely watched with a smirk as his girlfriend started to writhe and lose breath. Part of him wanted to screw her until all the legs in his bed were fully bent, but he behaved himself and instead kissed Ava's neck and caressed her body with his book closed on his fingers. He then said, "I'll take care of you when the others are gone tomorrow."

Ava boldly reached her hand in Ira's pants and stroked his hardened length. She whispered in his ear, "I'll make sure you do it properly this time. Walking through town is my favorite pasttime."

"It's your turn to pick the place, love," Ira responded, giving Ava a final kiss before getting off her and picking up his novel. "Odie. Tiger. Time to sleep."

"Yes, Master Ira," Tiger and Odie replied, scurrying to their smaller beds decorated with flower baskets and teddy bears.

Ira turned off his bedroom lamp, placed his book down, and drunk a small glass of water before settling under his sheets. Ava was already under them, watching Ira settle himself. It was something she found she liked doing. When he laid down next to her, she started to blush when he caressed her cheek to speak in softer tones. It had become routine to do so since the two starting sleeping in each other's rooms. He would read per his usual while the Chirithy played, and Ava would watch them or tinker with something and watch them at the same time. Ira would tell the Chirithy when it was time to sleep, and he and Ava would cuddle and talk for a while before sleeping themselves. Of course, they would have to wake early to return to their own beds before the others woke them up, but it was nice being able to sleep next to each other. They felt like a genuine couple; although, lately, Ava had started seeing real potential in Ira to be more than a boyfriend.

"You'd make a good dad," Ava complimented, cuddling into Ira's warm chest.

"You're the first woman to say that," Ira replied, earning a kiss from Ava.

"Good," Ava said, smiling sweetly.

"Have I earned my place as a husband the way I seem to in your dreams?" Ira asked out of genuine curiosity.

Ava lightly gasped at the question, blushed brightly with a half-lidded wistful gaze, and nodded quietly. Ira grunted at the response, gave a toothy smirk, and watched Ava lightly caress his chin with a single finger.

"Pity you'll have to leave me before the others wake up," Ira said with an almost saddened look in his eyes.

"Is it really just a pity?" Ava asked, looking down and snuggling into Ira's pillow.

"No," Ira answered, making Ava look at him in surprise. "Sometimes, it's like the beginning of a nightmare. Other times, it's something else that I can't describe with simple words."

"You're the worst tease ever, Ira," Ava repeated, reaching out to touch Ira's lips. "I hate how you're always tempting me."

Ira closed his eyes to gently kiss Ava's lips and held her close to him before drifting off to sleep. She joined him soon after, despising the fact that she had to wake early to avoid suspicion. The boy standing behind Ira's door, though, was less than pleased that she was even sleeping next to Ira at all. Gula stood outside of the door, contemplating whether or not he should just bum rush the door and knock it off its hinges to separate his two comrades before it was too late. The Master was a fool to think this experiment would help them get over their weird feelings for each other! Gula fantasized about other women much earlier than Ava and Luxu. He knew where things could go if the two weren't careful. This was a terrible idea!

"Gula?" Invi called, startling the boy. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Just a few minutes," Gula replied, not bothering to look at Invi.

"You don't think this is a good experiment either, do you?" Invi questioned.

"No, bu - What the hell are you wearing?" Gula questioned, finally getting a good look at Invi.

Invi hummed from the response and looked down at herself to see what the fuss was about. She was wearing simple lingerie: midnight blue satin corset, matching panty and slippers, and a nice icy blue sheer robe. She was covered for the most part. Okay, the robe had very high slits on the sides to show off her legs, but it wasn't nearly as revealing as some of Ava's lingerie. She had some articles in her wardrobe!

"You didn't just leave Aced's room in that, did you?" Gula asked, making sure this wasn't a choice match.

Invi blushed at the notion and said, "No! I was wondering if Ira finished his book, so I thought I'd visit him but I changed my mind."

"You visit him in those clothes?" Gula questioned. "No wonder he's after Ava! I'm going in."

"No, wait!" Invi said, reaching out to stop Gula. "It's only been a week since the Master started this experiment. When he gets an update on how everything was, then you can jump in and put a stop to it when the two start pursuing each other for the wrong reasons. This is solely to test their friendship."

"Oh, that thing they didn't have before?" Gula questioned, making a fair point.

"We have to at least give them some time," Invi suggested softly, making Gula sigh in frustration and look to his side. He truly was worried. Invi smiled and then asked, "Did you have feelings for Ava?"

"Hm?" Gula questioned, not paying attention. When he realized what the Foreteller asked, he said, "Oh no. She's like my sister and my mother at the same time. We grew up together and lived in the same house. I don't care about when she decides to date. I care about who. She's a good person. I don't want this experiment - this man - to leave her heartbroken. She doesn't deserve that from anyone!"

"Ira's a good man, too," Invi said quietly, smiling at Gula's words. "He may not be perfect. He may not even have the same interests as Ava does. But he is kind and intelligent and his heart is pure when he's with someone he loves. You heard what he said as clearly as I did when he spoke of his ex-girlfriend. He loves with all his heart and will do whatever it takes to make the other person happy."

"I guess I'm no better than you about this," a familiar voice said, startling the two Foretellers.

"Luxu?" Invi called.

"None of us are accepting this as an experiment it seems," another familiar voice said.

"Aced?" Gula called, earning a nod from the man.

"But we shouldn't talk about this outside the door," Aced advised. "The Master will reprimand us all, and Ira and Ava won't be able to trust us or each other if we admit that this is a terrible idea right here and now. Barging in won't make this any better."

"We have to think of something good that can come from this," Luxu suggested, leaning on the wall next to him. "Otherwise, we'll never get through the rest of this week. We already made things tense last week."

"That was my fault," Gula said, shaking his head and quietly leaning on the wall next to Ira's door. "I flipped out because I was scared. I thought Ira did something to her. I didn't care if he was my leader. I wasn't gonna let him hurt my friend."

"I was no better about it either," Luxu said, shaking his head. "I was so ready to kill him, I couldn't see anything else. We both were scared... but we both know Ira's not a monster. We know Ava's not a weak, little girl anymore. We have to figure out something - anything - to keep our emotions out of this."

Aced looked at Ira's door for the final time and asked, "What if Ira does like Ava? Would you try to take her away from him then?"

Gula and Luxu gasped lightly at the question and looked at each other before responding. Neither one of them was truly considering the idea, but they wondered if that could be something they would accept down the line. What if Ira did love Ava and just couldn't say it? What if Ava did love Ira and didn't want to say it? Could they accept the two having feelings for each other but suppressing them? The more they thought about it, the more they felt confused.

"I don't know," Luxu answered, sighing in frustration.

"Then this experiment is pointless," Aced replied, surprising everyone. "The Master said he wanted the two to be around each other more because we felt Ira was too distant to you all. Invi and I don't have the same problem as you do with Ira. He talks to us like normal people. We know about him. You two don't know him at all. If you're willing to snatch Ava, who is representing you in probably not the most desirable or appropriate way but some way, away from him despite what you might learn from him, then this experiment to get the two closer is fruitless. You don't trust him. It's as simple as that. Making him the leader over half of the group will do nothing for our future. He should know."

"Aced, Ira didn't know that he was distant from them. You can't punish him for that!" Invi argued. "If it's such a bother to them, they should be the ones to say so."

"It's not just them who's bothered by this!" Aced shouted in a whispering tone, surprising Invi. "You said so yourself that you were suspicious about this experiment from the moment the Master so much as mentioned the word. All of us hate this idea! He... no, they, should hear about this from us. But not now. When the week is over, that will be the final straw. Agreed?"

The others were silent but nodded. Aced was right. No one liked the idea of Ava and Ira "living together". If they had a problem with each other, they needed to talk about it. Aced had a different suspicion, though. Unlike the others, he saw Ira's bed on an uneven angle at the front. It was barely noticeable, yes, but it was noticeable enough. He doubted his friends were in an abusive relationship, but the two might've been in a much more intimate relationship. This experiment could've been a coverup or an excuse for them to really figure out how they felt about each other. So help him, Kingdom Hearts, if he so much as saw one, solid stroke from Ira entering into Ava's... Ava-hood, then he would have a severe stroke and probably grab Gula and Luxu to kill Ira.


End file.
